Ballina Braves knocked out of National Cup after a great fight
In front of a sell-out crowd and fantastic atmosphere, the National Cup adventure for Ballina Braves is over as the Mayo basketballers were bested by a more experienced Carrick Cruisers team from a division above the Moysiders.
NATIONAL CUP ROUND ONE
Ballina Braves 67
Carrick Cruisers 83
In Ballina Sports Centre
When Joseph Owens drove to the basket towards the end of the third quarter, he glided past the last defender in his way, and Owens only had a lay-up to do. Bang, money. The place erupted. The Ballina bench and supporters alike jumping up and down. The Braves had just gone on a 16-0 run and cut the deficit down to only a single point.
Anything seemed possible. They had finally found their rhythm. After a poor shooting performance in the first and second, they stepped up the intensity and physicality. There was huge belief in the building, that they might be able to pull off a sensational cup win.
After winning all four previous matches this season so far, Ballina’s head coach Paul Barrett was named as coach of the month October in Division Two.
But on Saturday evening, the professional experience from many of the Carrick Cruisers team eventually told in the final fourth quarter. They adjusted, composed themselves, and relied on their most formidable weapons. Foremost point guard Braxton Kyle Benham, who ended the game on 29 points, 6 assists and running the show. And also Saheed Adiodum Adedo was always a handful to deal with, lurking in the dunker spot.
At the end, Ballina’s defensive effort has to be commended. They took a few minutes to acclimatise to the higher pressure and faster play from a top team in Division One. But spurred on by big crowd, shouting B-A-L-L-I-N-A, and D-FENSE, the Braves fought their way into this fixture and never stopped working.
Young 20-year old captain Mark Cunningham was still hustling for possession in the final minute when the game was already decided. He wrestled the ball off the opponent and went for a quick 3-pointer, who swished through the net.
If it hadn’t been for Ballina’s super slow start, they could have made the evening a lot more difficult for Carrick. But the Mayo men only scored 10 ten points in the first quarter. And 6 of those 10 came off free-throws. Only two buckets from open play clearly showed that the team needed get used to the level.
The accumulated score of the other three quarters was 57-57, so Ballina can definitely take great encouragement from their performance.
A full match report will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.