Belmullet boys complete dream double for Mayo

Mayo owned the National Basketball Arena in Dublin today with both their representatives in the All-Ireland Schools finals returning west with the silverware in tow.

Following on from the triumph of St Muredach’s College in the senior ‘B’ final, their county colleagues St Brendan’s of Belmullet were crowned senior ‘C’ champions this afternoon after a titanic battle with Midleton CBS of Cork.

Damien Lavelle’s side eventually prevailed 55-47 having trailed 22-26 at half-time. In fact, such was the competitiveness of the contest, the lead had exchanged hands on no fewer than eleven times with only three minutes of the third quarter played.

Indeed the quality of the game was such that with a minute of the opening quarter still to play, five three-pointers had already been scored – which was as many as were scored in the entirety of the ‘B’ final won by St Muredach’s earlier in the day. The challenge for St Brendan’s however, was that four of those five had been landed by the Midleton boys, who would go on to score seven three pointers over the course of the contest.

Fortunately, St Brendan’s were utterly dominant beneath the boards and with a sensational display by MVP Seamus Howard, particularly over the course of the final two quarters, the Belmullet outfit ground down their Cork opponents to be crowned All-Ireland champions on a superb day for Mayo basketball.

In the lunchtime tip-off, St Muredach's of Ballina were 63-38 victors over Presentation De La Salle Bagenalstown in the senior 'B' boys final. 

See full coverage in next Tuesday's Western People