Tralee Magic u18 National Cup 2023/24


Our u 18 boys travelled to Ballina at the weekend to compete in Pool 2 of the National Cup. We were placed in a group with Athlone BC, Neptune of Cork and Dublin Raiders. First up on Saturday morning we faced Athlone. Led by Tomas Kennedy we started well and led at the end of the first 18-14. Josh came to the fore in the second period and we finished the half with a 30-23 lead. Sean Og Brosnan did a great defensive job on Athlone’s best player and this help us to extend our lead to 43-32 by heading into the fourth quarter. Ryne Ybanez had a great final period to help us to a 70-49 win.

Our second game against Neptune was always going to be tough. We started very slowly and put ourselves in a hole early on. We trailed 10-19 at the end of the first. Josh and Tomas scored well in the second period and we reduced the lead slightly to trail 27-35 at half time. Fionnan Ryan on offense and Sean Og on defense sparked us into life and after falling behind further we managed to reduce the gap to 4 points at the end of the third 37-41. It was nip and tuck in the fourth and we trailed by just 2 points with 4 minutes to go but two 3 pointers back to back pushed Neptune 8 points clear and we couldn’t come back with the score finishing 64-50 to Neptune.

Our final pool game against Dublin Raiders was essentially a knockout game to qualify for Sundays semi final. We started brightly and behind 6 points from Josh and a ‘3’ from Johnny Dawson we led 14-6 at the end of the first. Another long range effort from Johnny in the second along with Sean Heaslips defense and rebounding helped us to a 25-13 lead at halftime. The third quarter was a tight affair but we hit three three pointers in the period with ensured we led by 10 heading in to the fourth. We got everyone on the floor and it was great to see Jamie,Tadgh,Sam, Conor and Will have our best offensive quarter and ensure a 59-45 win.

Our reward was a semi final against the powerhouse that is Dublin Lions.  We knew we had to bring our ‘A’ game to compete with a team that is always one of the top teams in the country. Our defense in the first quarter was immense and with Tomas showing great leadership on offense we led by three points at the first break 16-13. Lions had a purple patch in the second quarter and led by 9 at one point but we hung in there and managed to finish the half down 6 with the score 34-40. Lions again applied great pressure and we found scores hard to come by. Again we fell behind by 11 points but the boys showed great character yet again to trail by just 5 points heading into the last period 52-57. It was a very intense game from this point on with both teams having runs at various times. With just 6 minutes remaining the teams were tied at 59 all. Lions went ahead 66-59 and it looked like we were finished but once more we fought back and it was 65-68 with just 3 minutes remaining. Lions managed to get a few scores to close out a 76-70 win. Our boys were devastated that we came up just short and the dressing room was a tough place to be after the game. Their courage and never say die spirit was amazing and we are all so proud of their performances all weekend. 

It was a great experience for the players,coaches and parents who provided fantastic support all weekend. Thanks also to Ballina Braves BC for doing a great job hosting the tournament. The were a most welcoming club and were a credit to Mayo basketball.