Ballina fall bravely as Castle’ catch them late

National Intermediate Cup – Round 1 

Team Merry Monk 71 

Castleisland St Mary’s 77 

Daragh Coyle at Ballina Sports Centre 

It wasn’t to be for Team Merry Monk on Sunday as Ballina’s senior basketball team couldn’t hold on at the end of the fourth quarter, despite a very level cup encounter and entertaining spectacle on Moyside. The real result for Ballina is that they are back competing at the national level, but they will feel like they left this game against Kerry opponents Castleisland behind them.

In the first quarter, Ballina and Castleisland were tit for tat. The hosts would get the scoring started through Stephen Popplewell before Ronan O’Malley converted two free throws and Peter Papik grabbed an offensive rebound to put back the two points on their second chance.

After Castleisland’s scoring opened through big man and rebound machine Donal McCarthy, off the bench Cian Clernon made a big impact for the visitors. He got a three pointer and a two point shot during the period, and the engine of the team, Seamus Brosnan, also got two of his six shots to fall throughout the quarter.

But the real star of this first period was Ronan McGarrity, who got five straight scoring sequences for his Merry Monk team, shooting four of seven from the field and making both free throws, ending the quarter with ten points, and so the sides would go into the second tied at 18 apiece.

If McGarrity was the star of the first, teammate Nathan Roddy stole the show in the second. His mid-range jumpshot was on target three times as he shot four of eight in play, and he also got a three pointer to go down during the second. Not to be outdone, Castleisland’s key men of the quarter showed their ability when Mark O’Shea dropped two threes over the Ballina defence, as well as Cian Clernon going two from two from the field from two-point range. Garry O’Sullivan fired a three point shot through and it was nip and tuck stuff.

A bucket from both big men on either team, including another putback on the offensive rebound for Peter Papik, was how the half ended as Donal McCarthy also got himself some second chance points.

The third quarter saw Ballina really take a lead and edge out in front during the game, but it did also see Ronan McGarrity edge closer to foul trouble. Ronan O’Malley took his turn to shoulder the scoring burden and become the prominent player in the quarter, ending it with four of his team’s five last scores and complementing McGarrity’s four points. Castleisland relied on Cian Clernon who dropped three shots in the quarter for seven points, with a three pointer to boot. Other scorers for the away club were Donal McCarthy, Declan Culhane and Mark O’Shea.

In the fourth and final quarter, Ballina led by five points but a disastrous series of events saw McGarrity foul out early, and one calamitous play levelled the settings as Seamus Brosnan earned an and-one score, making a layup through a foul. Then, as the foul was called an unsportsmanlike foul, they kept possession and Brosnan found the net again. The fight evaporated and Clernon clutched up with another three and a couple of two point shots, and it knocked the fight out of Ballina as Castleisland claimed the win.

Team Merry Monk: Markie Cunningham (7), Peter Papik (5), Stephen Popplewell (2), Ronan O’Malley (19) , Ronan McGarrity (20), Brian Donoghue (3), Nathan Roddy (15), James O’Boyle, David Marry, John O’Boyle Castleisland St Mary’s: Declan Culhane, Seamus Brosnan (11), Donal McCarthy (8), Mark O’Shea (10), Nathan Nolan (3), Cian Clernon (24), Declan Cahill (12), Garry O’Sullivan (9).