Basketball
Home win for DBS Éanna over neighbours Templeogue
By Daire Walsh
DBS Éanna held onto eighth place in the InsureMyVan.ie Men’s Super League table following their comprehensive 79-63 home triumph over neighbours Griffith College Templeogue on Saturday.
Joshua Wilson emerged as Éanna’s scorer-in-chief with 22 points, while Neil Lynch (15) and Marko Tomic (12) also put their shoulders to the wheel throughout the contest. Francis Mulvihill, James Gormley and Neil Randolph led the way for Templeogue, but Mark Keenan’s side ultimately succumbed to their third reversal in just five games and occupy 10th place in the league standings.
The foundations for this Éanna success were laid in the opening quarter, when the hosts developed a convincing 26-11 buffer.
Mulvihill and Randolph contributed some impressive baskets in the second-quarter, but the visitors nevertheless found themselves 12 points adrift (43-31) at the midway stage. To their credit, Templeogue dug deep and reduced their deficit to the bare minimum (57-56) with just 10 minutes left in the action.
However, Éanna eased home in the final-quarter with 12 successive points and will now embark on their away clash against Energywise Ireland Neptune on Saturday week in a confident manner. Having kept themselves in contention for so long, Templeogue will hope to hit top form against UCD Marian on the same day.
After recording their first win of the campaign in the InsureMyVan.ie Men’s Division One league against Portlaoise Panthers a week earlier, Abbey Seals Dublin Lions suffered a narrow 99-94 loss to Limerick Celtics at Colaiste Bride in Clondalkin on Saturday.
Not for the first time this season, Kevin Obasuyi and Ringo Dau produced standout performances for the Lions. Even though Obasuyi amassed an astonishing 36 points for the home team, Dau wasn’t far behind with a personal tally of 33.
Yet their Limerick counterparts have supreme talents in the shape of Joshua Reynolds, Scott Angus-Hankin and Miles Felletti-O’Donnell. This triumvirate recorded a combined haul of 80 points for the victorious Munster men.
Next up for the Lions is another home encounter on November 12, this time against Dublin rivals Moy Tolka Rovers.
In the MissQuote.ie Women’s Division One league, Griffith College Templeogue climbed up to fourth with a 73-45 success against Oblate Dynamos in Inchicore on Saturday.
Coming into the game with two wins and two draws, Templeogue were on level terms (17-17) at the end of the first-quarter before eventually taking control of the proceedings. Lynn Tunnah (20 points), Camila Casanueva (16) and Zoe Hurley (14) all featured prominently in the scoring stakes, though Aoife Whelan’s nine-point salvo was also crucial.
Claire Quinn Nealon, Megan Aho and Jennifer Sheehan stood out for Oblate, but couldn’t prevent their side from falling to a fourth defeat in five games. They will return to competitive fare against the Dublin Lions in Clondalkin on November 12, the same day that Templeogue are due to face Swords Thunder on the road.
Meanwhile, a 27-point haul from Gillian Wheeler inspired the aforementioned Dublin Lions women to a 75-67 win over St Paul’s, Killarney in Clondalkin on Tuesday night. Rachel Brennan (14) and Tara Nevin (10) also helped themselves to strong tallies as the Lions held off the challenge of their Kerry opponents to earn a second victory of the campaign.