Super Tolka brush past Limerick!
An Amazing team-performance leads Tolka into the second round of the National Cup!
Final Score: Moy Tolka Rovers 97-50 Limerick Sport Eagles
Half-time score: Moy Tolka Rovers 36-27 Limerick Sport Eagles
Starting five: Marcus Black, Matt Treacy, Ramunas Ramanauskas, Daniel Heaney, Michael Bonaparte
With Tolka winning the opening tip, a huge roar from the crowd set the atmosphere once Marcus Black secured the ball in his hands. Tolka were faced by a zone-defence and it was Ramunas Ramanauskas’ 3-pointer from the wing that put Tolka’s first points on the scoreboard. This was the first of his three 3-pointers on the night. Patient offence against the zone with nice ball movement led to Tolka finding open men for jump-shots. Both Daniel Heaney and Matt Treacy made tough midrange shots at the end of the shot-clock, while Marcus swished a beautifully 3-pointer from the wing. However the highlight of the quarter was definitely Daniel Heaney’s emphatic rejection on Jason Killeen. Despite a strong start from the lads, Limerick were able to remain in the game and after the first-quarter , Tolka led 17-13.
Tolka began the second quarter aggressively, stepping up defensively which led to some easy fast break points. Profiting off a steal, Matt Treacy found Zach Bates underneath the basket who was able to get his defender up in the air with a smooth pump fake and finished with a nice reverse layup. Michael Bonaparte relentlessly attacked his former teammate Killeen all-night in the battle of the “Irish-basketball legends” . The old men still have it! In the middle of the quarter, Ramanauskas saw himself some “BBQ Chicken” and proceeded to bully his defender, completely overpowering him and finishing with a tough layup. As Tolka began to build a small lead , some dodgy decisions from the refs held the lads back. Poor Conor Liston was robbed of a silky “and-one” finish when Tolka was called for an offensive foul. The reffing decisions left coach Gerald Kennedy speechless. Towards the end of the quarter, the usual energetic Daniel Ayoade left his defender in the dust with a smooth crossover and finished with a nice layup. As he turned towards the Tolka bench and smiled , the crowd went wild. He really made his defender look like an NPC. This was turning point of the game as from then on, Tolka created a momentum in which they never looked back from. Great defence from the lads led to two spectacular fast-break finishes, the first one was a beautiful unselfish 1-2 pass between Black and Ayoade which resulted in Black finishing with his off-hand, the second one was a smooth finish from Treacy after a quarterback pass from Bonaparte from our own baseline. At half-time, Tolka were up 9.
It was again, Ramanauskas who opened up the scoring for Tolka in the second half with quick 5 points. This really set the tone for Tolka who proceeded to go on a massive run which forced Limerick into an early timeout. Elijah Faapito had an amazing second-half, finding himself in the right spots at the right times for huge rebounds and steals. Matt Treacy had a big third quarter, scoring on a fast-break a few times including a strong rip-through finish for an “and-one” and knocking down a corner three off a nice pass from Heaney. Tolka’s third quarter was something special, scoring 39 points which was more than they scored in the first two quarters!! Treacy’s no-look pass for Zach Bates’ tough “and-one” finish was the cherry on the cake for a spectacular quarter from Tolka.
The start of the last quarter saw the “Zach Bates show’ begin. Bates was unstoppable , getting to wherever he wanted to on the court and finishing in a variety of ways including a smooth hook shot with his left hand and a nasty jelly layup. Limerick were not able to handle Bates’ athleticism and length. Rory Carroll, Rory Howe and Sean Moore provided huge energy off the bench. Captain Sean Moore penetrated the defence numerous times for layups and floaters, while Carroll and Howe both knocked-down 3-pointers from the corner. Dan Heaney showed his playmaking abilities this quarter finding open cutters and shooters all over the court. In the end , it was a dominant all-around performance from Tolka and a great night for the fans!
Next Weekend, our NL men’s team play Dublin Lions away in Colaiste Bride. Lions will also be our opponents in the second round of the President’s National Cup!
The next home game for our National League teams will be Saturday the 19th of November , a double-header. The NL Ladies face Swords Thunder at 5pm while the NL mens face Team North West at 7:30pm!
