A great team-win for the U16(1) Boys
Hard pressing and fast-breaking from the fast 16’s leads Tolka past Ongar!
Final Score: Tolka U16(1) Boys 62-47 Ongar Chasers
Half-time Score: Tolka 29-27 Ongar
Starting Five: Gavin O’Brien, Tadhg Ó Céileachair , Richard McKay, Adam Stanley, Patrick Omotade
Scorers: T.Ó Céileachair 13, R.McKay 13, P.Omotade 10,Gavin O’Brien 9, T.McKenna 5, M.Geoghegan 4, B.Lynch 4, A.Stanley 2, D.McKay 2
It was a back and forth 1st quarter in Beneavin, with both teams starting off strong. Gavin O’Brien hit a nice three-pointer from the corner after an inbound pass from Richard “Richie” McKay to put Tolka up 5-4. Tristan McKenna knocked down a 3 pointer from the wing while Tadhg Ó Céileachair hit a nice jumper from the top of the key. The highlight of the first quarter was definitely O’Brien’s sneaky bouncy pass to split two defenders to find Patrick Omotade for a tough inside finish. However it was Ongar who led by one after the first quarter.
The second quarter was quite sloppy for both teams, with many turnovers on both sides. However Joel Ilogu, David McKay, Ben Lynch, Ylian Stoquert, Mark Geoghegan,Tristan McKenna and Cosmin Ilie provided huge energy off the bench for Tolka. All the players gave it their all , constantly sprinting up and down the court. O’Brien found a running Geoghegan with a beautiful one-handed pass from Tolka’s own half for an easy layup. Even Tom Brady would have been extremely impressed by this pass. It was Ilie who found Geoghegan again on the fast-break for a smooth reverse layup. Tolka decided to implement a full-court press which made Ongar extremely uncomfortable for the whole game. The constant pressing led to many forced turnovers and easy baskets for Tolka. Whenever the press was broken down, Tolka’s big men : Ylian Stoquert, Cosmon Ilie and Patrick Omotade were always in position to protect the basket, this was reflected by Ilie’s massive chase-down block in the middle of the quarter. Towards the end of the quarter, Centre , Patrick Omotade showed-off his versatile game when he grabbed a big rebound and then proceeded to leave two defenders in the dust with a swift behind the back dribble. Omotade would then take the ball to the rack and after missing the shot, he snatched rebound and went up again for a strong “and-one” finish. A huge roar from the crowd and the Tolka bench was heard in support of this persistent play from Tolka’s big man. At the half, Tolka were up 2.
A huge second-half was needed from the lads in order to bring the game home hence Tolka began the quarter with huge energy, hunger and motivation to win the game. The Team stepped-up defensively and this created the momentum for Tolka to start building a lead. Ó Céileachair had a beautiful no-look pass to find a cutting Adam Stanley for a nice floater from the baseline. Ben Lynch played extremely good defence, holding his ground numerous times against a taller defender and getting many rebounds. Richard McKay’s blocked a shot off the backboard which resulted in an easy layup for O’Brien. The press worked wonders in the second-half and the lads were able to profit off numerous steals for easy fast break points. Tristan McKenna made a dazzling in-and out move to dribble by his defender and finish with a layup, this was followed by a silky and-one finish by Richie McKay. Towards the end of the game , O’Brien sent his defender flying with a nice fake-pass and finished with an euro-step layup.
It was a great team performance yesterday from the U16 lads. It was great to see everyone giving it their all and for the boys to bounce back this convincingly from a tough result against Templeogue! Coach Emmet Geoghegan was happy with the result but stated that the lads still have plenty to work on, a long season still ahead !
