Templeogue and Éanna off to fine starts in Super League
Reigning National Cup champions Griffith College Templeogue made an ideal start in the Men’s Basketball Super League on Saturday evening as they recorded an emphatic 84-61 victory at the expense of Bright DCU Saints in the DCU Sports Complex on Saturday evening.
Following a series of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – the 2020/21 domestic basketball season never got off the ground – Templeogue were eager to hit the ground running on the opening weekend of the new campaign.
When the Mark Keenan-coached outfit got the better of fellow south Dubliners DBS Éanna in the 2020 National Cup decider, Irish international Lorcan Murphy emerged as top-scorer with an impressive tally of 33 points.
He was in fine form again in this seasonal opener, contributing a final haul of 18 points to help Templeogue towards a memorable Dublin derby success.
40-28 in front at the midway point in the action, the 2017 Super League winners carried this momentum into the third and fourth quarters with the evergreen Jason Killeen also featuring prominently.
It was a much tighter affair at Coláiste Éanna in Ballyroan, where DBS Éanna required overtime in advance of sealing a hard-earned 94-88 win over Killester.
Perseverance was a necessity for Darren McGovern’s charges, who found themselves starting into a deficit at the end of the opening three quarters.
Nevertheless, with new recruit Devin Gilmore starting to make a telling impact, Éanna were back on level terms at the end of regulation time (83-83).
It was almost impossible to predict how the contest was going to pan out from this point, but it was the home team who discovered an extra gear when it counted.
In Men’s Division One, Abbey Seals Dublin Lions produced a commendable effort before losing out 79-63 to Ulster University Tigers at UUJ.
This was Erin Bracken’s first game as head coach of the Clondalkin side, who were relegated from the Super League in 2019/20.
They have managed to keep the core of that squad, however, and will be hoping their unity of purpose can help them to push for promotion as the season develops.
The Griffith College Templeogue women’s team also made the journey to UUJ on Saturday for a Division One bout against Ulster University.
In the end, the northerners secured a double triumph over Dublin opposition as they emerged with 12 points to spare (70-58).
