The defence of the treasured National Cup Title was always going to be a battle, and when Templeogue were drawn against the current league title holders UCC Demons, it was always going to be a mammoth battle!
The game opened well, with Lorcan Murphy hitting a three pointer to open the scoring followed immediately by another 3 pointer from Stephen James. The rest of the quarter was not as successful as the lads found it hard to find form from the field. UCC Demons looked comfortable and were in the lead 22-21 at the end of the first thanks to a three point buzzer beater.
However, the never say die attitude of the Templeogue players saw a return to form as Jason Killeen, Neil Randolph and also Lorcan scored a plenty. Some spectacular baskets had the full house on their feet, as Lorcan rose high above the rim on many occasions to return to his more regular dunk spectacular. The half time score reflected their hard work going in to the break with a 10 point lead, 49-39; a lead which was needed as UCC Demons again showed the reason they are league champions battling hard to narrow the gap to a mere 4 points midway through the third quarter. Captain James steered the ship with insightful passes, and tremendous defence, restricting the Demons free flowing play and Big Man Killeen, was massive in defense with an impressive 17 rebounds and 3 blocks, he was king of boards.
Demons vociferous supporters got the defence chant going, much to amusement of the home crowd, who without the legendary choir master (Margaret Miley) took up the mantel and let the away supporters know who was in charge! With 2 mins remaining the score was 88-82 after a downtown 3 from Demons Roy Downey, however, Demons didn’t allow for the energy and skill of none other than man of the match Mike Bonaparte, who made 4 massive plays in under a minute, culminating in a 4 point play with 22 seconds remaining to get the stalworth supporters on their feet. Game over and an impressive triple double for Mike – 10 Rebounds, 10 assists and 19 points.
Top scorers for Templeogue: Killeen 21, Murphy 21, Bonaparte 19, Randolph 16 and James 11.
So, half time reigns as the second leg of this much acclaimed game will take place on Sunday next, October 30th, in the Mardyke Arena, Cork. Tip-off at 3pm. A Supporters & Team bus has been arranged and tickets are available for only €10. As always, and with all our away games, we’d love to see a huge crowd travelling and perhaps last seasons saviour in the Mardyke, Anthony Murray, could pack an additional bar of chocolate, just in case!!
Lorcan Murphy’s athleticism saw him outmanoeuvre the Demons defence with his trademark dunks, while Captain Stephen James was immense with his passing and defence.
Game photos are courtesy of Rolf Stenberg of Rock Mountain Studios. All images rights reserved.
Templeogue Men’s Super League team are sponsored by Black Amber, Quillsen Estate Agents and Proteam Basketball.
