DUBLIN LADIES BASKETBALL BOARD U13 FINAL
By Daire Walsh
Templeogue produced an outstanding final flourish at Oblate Hall on Sunday morning to overcome local rivals Firhouse in the Dublin Ladies Basketball Board U13 final.
Level at the end of the second-quarter, Templeogue turned on the style in the remaining minutes to ultimately triumph on a final scoreline of 37-25.
This capped a memorable weekend for the Dublin 6w outfit, who secured three trophies across Saturday and Sunday at the Inchicore venue. On the previous day, Templeogue defeated Tolka Park by 19 points (52-33) in the U14 final with the help of four of their U13 contingent.
To round things off, the club’s Intermediate side won by the same margin (58-39 in this case) against Tigers in their Cup decider on Sunday afternoon.
Their U13 side entered last weekend’s action on the back of securing a league title at the end of February. They finished out their top-flight campaign with a one-point victory over Firhouse at their home ground of Presentation College in Terenure, but had to be conscious of a potential backlash from their fellow southsiders.
Joining manager Aisling Ryan in the Templeogue backroom team is Lynn Tunnah – captain of the Templeogue women’s senior side in the National Basketball League. Tunnah started playing the sport herself at just seven years of age and is now doing her utmost to guide through the next generation of basketball stars in the club.
With Laura Byrne and Tea Gjoni leading by example, Templeogue edged in front at the end of the first-quarter. Firhouse had proven themselves to be formidable opponents in their aforementioned league clash, however, and came roaring back into contention.
They had restored parity heading into the third-quarter, but it was at this point that Templeogue started to get on top of proceedings. Thanks to their diligent defence and ferocious work-rate, Firhouse were kept scoreless for the whole of this juncture.
Rosa Knaggs and Emily Hannigan were particularly strong in this period and with Byrne continuing to produce the goods in attack, Templeogue eventually came out on top.
In addition to Byrne and Gjoni – who registered 18 baskets between them – Hannigan, Lucy Mander, Cara Davidson and Ayla Fitzgerald also got their names on the scoresheet for the victors.
Several of this Templeogue squad have been members of the club for a number of years and already counted an U12 Cup amongst their list of accolades. As they continue to progress through the age grades, it is anticipated that they will remain a force to be reckoned with.