Super League Basketball

Black Amber Templeogue introduced 16 year-old Kris Arcilla to Super League over the weekend, as first he made his debut in Saturday’s 101-78 win over KUBS, then scored his first points in their huge 104-52 win over Maree on the Bank Holiday. The youngster was buzzing after making his debut, as he explains, “I didn't play much but that was expected. I really enjoy being on the sideline supporting the team and soaking in all the experience from the older players a 16 year old. When I got called by Mark (Keenan) against KUBS in the 4th quarter, I just got really excited. I told myself whenever I get the chance to play, I'll play it like a regular underage game and just be me.” We asked him how he found the pace of the game at this level, “The pace of the Super League game didn't really phase me, because after two months of training with the team at game speed all the time, I got used to it.” And how did he think he played? “I personally think I did alright in the game wit...

SSE Airtricity Moycullen Head Coach John Cunningham went looking to bring in an American player ahead of the new Super League season, and that search led him to Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.   The Head Coach of the basketball program there, Justin Potts, has a good idea of the type of player who can succeed in the Irish Super League as he explains, “I was in discussions with John (Cunningham) during the process. I have had two former players play in Ireland prior to Brandon so I was familiar with the league and what the teams look for. John and I exchanged some emails and we sent some film over on Brandon. I told John that Brandon would be a great addition to the team and the community. I really appreciate John giving Brandon the opportunity.” Potts continued to tell us a little bit about the college, “Moravian is a small Liberal Arts College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It’s the 6th oldest college in America that has a very strong academic reputation. The men's ba...

Paul Freeman feels that both he and SSE Airtricity Moycullen will improve greatly as the season goes on, and with some home games on the horizon, thinks there’s no better time to start than against local Super League rivals Maree in the National Cup this weekend.  Freeman was injured heading into the season and said, “I missed all of preseason with an injury so I feel like there's still room for improvement, but with a few home games coming up in the next few weeks I think we can get a few more wins. The cup game next week is a big game too so we're already focused on that. We just need a good performance and I think we'll be ok, however the cup can be unpredictable.” Moycullen had a great win in NUIG’s Kingfisher last weekend, beating Éanna 86-77 and Freeman said, “We were happy to get the win Saturday night. We felt like we should have closed out the Tralee game last week so it was good to bounce back.” “Éanna were coming off wins against Templeogue and DCU so we we...

We recently caught up with Ireland Under-16 Women’s Head Coach Andy Gill (pictured above) and asked him to take us through the whole process of first selecting players, and then moulding them into a team to represent Ireland at the 2017 Under-16 European Championships in Macedonia.  It’s a fascinating account of the work and dedication that both the coaches and players go through to even get to a finals tournament.  Andy starts from the very beginning; “Following a successful 7th place finish at the Under 16 European championships in August 2015 I was given the opportunity to take another Under 16 women programme that would culminate in a 10th place finish in 2017.” “The experience of the last programme definitely helped with selection, technical planning and organisation of meaningful international games which are so important at this level.” “The selection process began at the Under 15 inter-regionals which were held in October 2015 at NUIG. This is where I met up ...

Black Amber Templeogue have struggled so far this season, after an opening day win over DCU Saints they then proceeded to lose the next 3 to Killester, Éanna and UCD Marian. However, on Saturday night in the Oblate Hall in Inchicore they clinched a superb overtime win over a UCC Demons team that have been in great form to begin the season.   Their top performer on the night was 5’9” American guard Lawrence ’Puff’ Summers. He scored 25 points on 50% shooting and was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. He was ably assisted by Jason Killeen with 22 and Neil Randolph with 18. It was a very big win for Templeogue and Head Coach Mark Keenan said, “It’s a big relief off the shoulders to get a win after the last few weeks. Fair play to the lads, we stuck more together tonight and came through it, so we’re delighted to get back to winning ways.” We caught up with Summers after the game to get his reaction, “It was a big win for us. 3 losses in a row is enough to make doubt creep into ev...

SSE Airtricity Moycullen bounced back from a last-gasp 3-pointer loss to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors to beat Éanna 86-77 in NUIG’s Kingfisher.  Moycullen Head Coach John Cunningham was delighted with the way his side have coped over the last couple of games, “We had a lot of trouble last year with size so it was good to deal pretty well with the two biggest teams in the league.” Their recent American addition Brandon McGuire had a great night, scoring 33 points along with 9 boards, 7 of them on the offensive end. He also shot 5 from 8 from beyond the arc, showing his versatility.  Coach Cunningham said of McGuire, “Brandon has worked out really well. I was very focused on getting a guy who could help us physically and still fit our structure, but there’s always a risk that what you think you’re getting is not what you get. However in Brandon’s case, we got ‘exactly what it says on the tin.’ Paul Freeman did well on rebounds grabbing 14 on the night while also scoring 11 p...

Belfast Star Head Coach Darren O’Neill says that he was happy with their start to the season, however he also feels that the start could have been even better, “I’m reasonably pleased with the start we’ve made but felt we could’ve won the last 2 games.” Star won their opening three games against KUBS, Maree and DCU Saints, but fell to Griffith College Swords Thunder last week and then lost by just a bucket on Saturday to Pyrobel Killester, a game O’Neill says they probably didn’t deserve to win. O’Neill told us, “Poor game for us on Saturday night, Killester played much better than us and fully deserved the victory.” American Ryan Oliver again had a good night with the ball, as he scored 33 points. O’Neill, while saying he played well, knows Oliver Still has lots to work on, “Ryan had a good game and probably still left a few out there going 0/7 from the 3pt line.” Belfast face a trip to Dublin this Saturday night as they begin their National Cup campaign against Super League C...

After this weekend’s action UCD Marian are the only unbeaten team in the Men’s Super League, while there’s a 4-way tie at the top of the Women’s Super League as WIT Wildcats, UCC Glanmire, SuperValu Brunell and last season’s Champions Liffey Celtics are 2 from 2.  Marian had little trouble dispatching winless Maree 86-49 with Conor Meany top-scoring with 16 points. Griffith College Swords Thunder stay top of the table having played a game more and they had a very comfortable 93-48 win over a very young KUBS side. Black Amber Templeogue got a much-needed win at Oblate Hall when they beat UCC Demons in an overtime thriller.  Lawrence ‘Puff’ Summers and Jason Killeen were vital in the reigning champions victory, with the pair netting 46 points between them. Templeogue Head Coach Mark Keenan said afterwards, “It’s a big relief off the shoulders to get a win after the last few weeks. Fair play to the lads, we stuck more together tonight and came through it, so delighted to g...

IT Carlow’s American guard Maeve Parahus, who came to Ireland as part of the Sport Changes life program, feels the the Super League newcomers have what it takes to stay up in the country’s top Division come the end of the season.  Carlow opened up their season with an overtime win over NUIG Mystics, but lost to both WIT Wildcats and UCC Glanmire.  Parahus told us, “Last weeks game against WIT Wildcats was a tough loss for us. The Waterford Wildcats are a talented team and we knew it was going to be a tough battle with two players injured and a short bench. Although we lost, I felt we had moments where we played really good basketball and it showed what we are capable of this season.” She is delighted to be playing and says it’s just a matter of time before everything clicks into place for the side, “This is IT Carlow's first year in Super League and I'm really excited to be a part of it. As we begin to learn each others styles of play I believe this season could be a gre...