Tigers maul Monks

Tigers take down Monks

QUARTER-FINAL
Tralee Tigers 94
Merry Monk 80

Eamonn Keogh
Tralee

DESPITE leading by four points entering the final quarter, Merry Monk Ballina made their cup exit when they were eventually overpowered by reigning champions Abrakebabra Tigers in a very exciting quarter-final clash before a sell-out crowd at Tralee Sports Complex last Saturday night.
It was a match that the Mayo men could very easily have won. Indeed, they did exceptionally well to bounce back from a 13-point deficit midway through the second quarter and enjoy that four-point advantage entering the final period. However, it was a dismal final quarter for Ballina, who were outscored by 30 points to 12, with Tigers’ Americans CJ Hadley and Chris Jordan really stepping it up and leading the home side to a rather flattering 14-point win in the end.
The Mayo side will know the game was won and lost in that final quarter. The fact that they went almost a full five minutes without scoring a single basket in that period is quite significant; Tralee hit 12 unanswered points during that spell. Jermaine Turner’s foul trouble didn’t help matters and his withdrawal for a time allowed Tigers to gain more control and set themselves up for victory.
Ballina started this match with Ronan McGarrity and Paul Freeman alongside the foreign trio of Jermaine Turner, Pete Strobl and Puff Summers. Tigers included Kerry footballers Kieran Donaghy and Micheál Quirke on court with foreign signings CJ Hadley, Chris Jordan and Paris Katsimpas.
Exchanges were even at an early stage, with Ballina coming back from 4-0 down to hit eight points without reply thanks to a Ronan McGarrity three-pointer and good baskets from Paul Freeman and Jermaine Turner. Tigers kept in touch through CJ Hadley and Kieran Donaghy, while a big dunk from Turner had the sides level at 12 points each with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Tralee were playing exceptionally good defence and limited the scoring and penetration threats of Summers and Strobl. CJ Hadley was really stamping his authority on the match as Ballina struggled in offensive situations and their only returns in the closing five minutes came from Shane O’Meara. Tigers broke away to enjoy a 26-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Summers finally found his range with an early three-pointer in the second quarter as coach Terry Kennedy ran his bench with Paul Barrett and veteran Deora Marsh entering the fray for McGarrity and Strobl. Tralee’s Americans Hadley and Jordan continued to impress as Tigers opened up a 38-25 minutes after five minutes.
Hovever, Ballina upped the tempo with Strobl returning to the action and landing a big three-pointer to narrow the gap to 40-32. Jermaine Turner made a big impact with two huge three-point plays followed by a spectacular slam dunk that reduced the deficit to 45-42 with less than two minutes left.
The visitors weren’t finished and two more baskets from Strobl had Ballina leading 46-45 in the closing seconds of the half. But CJ Hadley sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to bring his first half tally to 19 points and help Tigers to a 48-46 interval advantage.
Tralee maintained their advantage with three-pointers from Quirke and Hadley keeping them 56-50 ahead after four minutes. However, Summers and Turner brought the visitors back to level matters at 56 points each midway through the third quarter.  Baskets were traded between both sides and McGarrity and a Strobl three-pointer had Ballina leading 66-62 entering the final minute of the quarter. With Quirke picking up his fourth foul and Donaghy already on three fouls, the advantage seemed to be with Ballina, and the visitors  entered the final quarter in confident mood leading 68-64.
However, Tralee hit back with big scores from Jordan and Teahan, and the home side were 69-68 in front within a minute of the restart. Strobl and Summers kept Ballina in contention to lead 73-71 and they were 73-72 in front with 7:25 remaining as Jermaine Turner picked up his fourth foul. He was immediately withdrawn and Tigers capitalised on his absence. Hadley, Jordan and Katsimpas were all on target and the home side led 78-73 with five minutes remaining.
Turner returned but Tigers were on a high and a huge dunk from Chris Jordan brought the home crowd to their feet. The outstanding Hadley followed with a massive three-pointer bringing Tigers scoring run to 12 points without any reply from Ballina, and the home side were firmly in the driving seat, leading 83-73 with 4:26 remaining.
A free throw from Summers broke Ballina’s scoring duck to make it 83-74. Amazingly, they went over six minutes without scoring from play, whereas Tigers hit 18 points in that time. The ststistics speak for themselves: Ballina led 73-71 with 8:30 left but trailed 89-74 with 2:30 remaining.
There was no way back for the Mayo men after this, despite the best efforts of the McGarrity brothers and Pete Strobl. In the end, Tralee’s 14-point margin was probably not a fair reflection on the game. Ballina probably had greater strength in depth, with the likes of Shane O’Meara, Deora Marsh and Darragh McGarrity all coming off the bench and doing a very effective job. Tigers didn’t enjoy that novelty and depended very much on their first five, who did not let them down on the night. Hadley and Jordan are probably the best American combination in the league, while Kerry footballers Donaghy and Quirke are two of the best Irish players around. Ballina’s cause wasn’t helped by missing 11 free throws on the night.
Ballina  coach Terry Kennedy was naturally disappointed with the defeat, but he always knew it was going to be tough.
“Tigers are a very good team and while we played very well at times, a few things went against us,” he said. “We missed some big shots and ran into foul trouble. We did very well to come back from 13 points in the second quarter, and we matched up well when they went into a zone. We should have done much better in the final quarter and the 14-point gap in the end didn’t reflect the true story of the game.”