Day to remember for Oblates in senior final
It was a day to remember for Oblates Basketball Club on Sunday as the Inchicore-based side recorded a magnificent 57-49 victory against Liffey Celtic in the Dublin Ladies Basketball Board Senior final.
Playing on their home turf of Oblate Hall, Terry Staunton’s charges held off a stiff challenge from their Leixlip counterparts to triumph in the showcase decider on a superb weekend of basketball on the Tyrconnell Road. Founded in 1983, Oblates were runners-up in this competition back in 2019/20 and also claimed second spot in the Division One league during the same season.
They had come into last weekend’s game in a rich vein of form with seven wins and just one defeat from their eight games to date in Senior Ladies Division One. This included a comprehensive 57-28 home win over Liffey Celtics on November 18 and despite having three games in hand, they are just three points adrift of league pace-setters DCU Mercy.
While there may well be another shot at silverware later in the year, Sunday’s Cup decider presented them with a glorious opportunity to bolster their trophy cabinet. In addition to their recent good history against Celtics, Oblates were also spurred on by the fact that the club’s supporters made up the vast majority of the capacity crowd in the bleachers.
Niamh Masterson finished the contest with 15 points for Celtics, but they were largely kept at bay during a dominant first-quarter from Oblates. Katie Maloney, Emily O’Callaghan and Samantha Massey all came up with scores to propel their side into a 20-8 lead.
Yet Masterson’s influence started to grow and it took some outstanding contributions by Claire Quinn Nealon and Billie Jean Byrne to keep Oblates in the driving seat. When the half-time whistle was sounded, they found themselves 36-28 in front having come under increased pressure from Celtics.
Ellie Thornton and Lauren Malone were superb in defence throughout for Oblates and team captain Jennifer Sheehan also led by example. Still, with Rebecca Keating ably-assisting Masterson, Celtics remained in the reckoning and brought their deficit down to five in the closing minutes.
However, Oblates were not to be denied. Nealon (12) and Maloney (11) registered a combined haul of 23 points and this went a long way towards ensuring they rose to the top of the Cup pyramid.
The decibel levels at Oblate Hall were off the scale as Sheehan lifted the crown in the aftermath of the game and you get a sense this might only be the beginning of a journey for this gifted group.
