Eanna Under 15s pipped in decider
DESPITE a really gritty performance, Eanna were narrowly beaten 51-45 by Liffey Celtics in the recent Boys’ Under-15 Dublin Cup Final in the Oblate Hall in Inchicore.
The Rathfarnham outfit had suffered a heavy loss to Celtics in a pre-Christmas clash and were hoping to make amends this time out against the Leixlip team who boasted five members of the current Irish Under-15 extended squad.
Points were swapped in the first quarter, with Eanna’s Ciaran McDonnell hitting eight and also top-scoring with 16 points.
However, Celtics were in determined mode and forged ahead to finish the quarter in front, on a slender scoreline of 17-13.
And the Leixlip side stepped up a gear in the second, outscoring Eanna by 11-4 points, leaving them with a half-time advantage of 11 points.
The third quarter proved to be a titanic tussle between the two sides, with Eanna piling on the pressure through their zone press, as they edged the quarter by a single point, 19-18.
Troy Ajimokum provided valuable inside points with an impressive tally of 14 and was helped on rebounds by Brian Iheson, who bagged four points, yet Celtics weathered the storm with four successive baskets from Oberoi.
And despite outscoring their opponents by 9-5 in the quarter, Eanna could not completely close the gap.