HARD FOUGHT WIN!
A huge second half sees U20’s comeback from down 14!

Final Score: Tolka U20’s 63-58 Malahide
Half-time Score: 27-34 Malahide
Starting five: Ale Biffi (C), Lorcan O’Brien, Moustapha Kourouma, Sam Badejo, Brian Curran
Scorers: S.Badejo 25, M.Kourouma 17, B.Curran 11, A.Biffi 4, D.Callaly 4, J.Giltenane 2

Going into the game missing some key players such as Elijah Faapito, Ethan Farrelly and Praise Ogunsakin , Tolka knew everyone had to step up in order to beat a strong Malahide team. It took a while but thankfully, the lads responded with a huge fourth quarter comeback.

The game initially started with Malahide jumping to 8-2 lead, hot shooting from the opposition to start off looked like Tolka were going to be in a for long, long night. It was Brian Curran who led the charge and brought Tolka back quickly into the game. An absolute menace on the offensive boards, Curran was uncontainable inside the paint. His 7 first quarter points kept Tolka afloat , in what seemed to be a 3-point bombardment from Malahide.

A strong second quarter start saw Tolka begin to make a steady comeback. Matthew Conlon and Niall Bartley grabbed some crucial rebounds while Lorcan O’Brien locked-in defensively to shut down his opponent. Sam Badejo and Moustapha Kourouma were unstoppable as usual. Despite struggling from 3 tonight, their quick and long strides to the basket were a force to be reckoned with. Malahide decided to switch to a zone defence in order to try pack the paint and force Tolka into taking 3-point shots. Sam Badejo took this opportunity to exploit gaps in the defence , one time splitting two defenders with a pound dribble and finishing with a tough “and-one” floater. Tolka began to move the ball well, finding open shooters. Dakota Callaly was found on a nice pass from Curran for a sweet floater in the paint, while Ale Biffi spotted a wide-open Joseph Giltenane at the free-throw line who proceeded to nail a smooth jumper. However Tolka’s lacklustre defence allowed for Malahide to remain in front at the half.

A terrible start to the second half saw Malahide jump to a 14 point lead. Poor communication and missed rotations allowed Malahide to run in easy baskets. However when Coach Kevin Ashton and Tom Kenny called a timeout and gave huge motivational speeches, Tolka suddenly switched on and the momentum switched to our favour. Defensively the lads stepped up massively, led by Brian Curran’s huge presence in the middle of the key. Slowly , the lads began to crawl back from this double-digit lead and after Ale Biffi’s 3-pointer with a few seconds left , Tolka were down only 7 going into the last quarter.

This momentum was carried into the 4th quarter and Tolka began the quarter with 12 unanswered points. Badejo splashed a massive 3-pointer while Curran battled inside for some key second-chance points. Kourouma continued to be aggressive and had a smooth and-one finish over two defenders. Shoutout to Cian Byrne for a massive 4th quarter shift, getting some huge rebounds and steals which helped Tolka take the lead! Point guard, Ale Biffi attacked the basket numerous times, drawing some defenders and then dishing it off to Badejo and Kourouma for some tough inside finishes. Badejo tonight was unguardable, every time he took the ball to the basket, Malahide could only pray that he would miss. He got to his spot , whenever he wanted and there was nothing Malahide could do about it. Just when the game seemed won, up 7 with a minute left, Malahide brought the game back to two points off some careless mistakes from Tolka. However clutch free-throws from Biffi and Kourouma iced the game and sealed the win for Tolka!

In regards to our Shaqtin-a-fool MVP race, Sam Badejo has now officially taken the lead over Elijah Faapito. In the middle of the game, Badejo decided to walk-off the court to high five some friends just like JR Smith did a few years ago with Jason Terry when Smith played for Cleveland. Despite this silly moment, Badejo had an amazing game and was key for our victory tonight! Quick mention to Matthew Conlon, who had his layup absolutely swatted against the backboard. Huge congrats on your first Shaqtin moment big fella!!

All focus now turns towards our big National Cup quarter-final next Wednesday. We face a strong Limerick Lions team at 8pm in Tolka. This will be our biggest test yet and a win would book our place in the semi-finals in Cork! We will need as much support as possible from the crowd, we encourage all of Tolka turn up Wednesday to cheer on the guys!