Young basketballs players in Portlaoise CBS made history recently when they became the first group to win an All-Ireland U-16 bronze medal in the A grade.
The U-16s, coached by Peter Duignan, were just edged out in the semi final of the competition by a basket.
It was a heartbreaking end but still a remarkable achievement as it was the further the school had ever gone at this level.
Check out reports on the quarter and semi final courtesy of Fionn Stack below.
Portlaoise CBS 63 Rathmore 61
All-Ireland U-16 ‘A’ Basketball Quarter Final
The quarter final got off to a sensational start with both sides vying for their spot in the semi-final. Both sides were evenly matched.
Our lads knew their work was cut out for them. Mark Madu, burst onto the scene securing many of our baskets but anytime we seemed to score, Rathmore matched it.
Madu and Mark Delaney were having a great presence at the heart of the zone defence blocking and rebounding at every opportunity. Demilade Sonupe put his name on the scoresheet with a superb euro step layup.
Rathmore had done their homework and were doing their best to limit scoring opportunities for Jayden Umeh and Desmond Ogedegbe. They were ruthless and showed unwavering determination and made baskets of their own as a result.
The quarter ended with a half court buzzer beater three pointer for Rathmore which left the CBS trailing by a basket.
Rathmore had momentum at the start of the second quarter and hit a lot of their open shots and quickly ran up a lead of twelve points. The CBS called a timeout and made some changes.
Scott Davies entered the game with a three pointer, which was quickly answered with a Rathmore basket. Madu continued to try rally the team and closed this gap with a basket of his own.
Umeh and Ogedegbe started to get going in the game as the CBS scored some transition lay ups. However, Rathmore yet again secured a 3 pointer at the buzzer to leave the CBS trailing by four at the half.
The CBS had a great talk at half time and this paid off as they came storming out at the start of the 3rd quarter. Ogedegbe secured the first basket quickly followed by another with his infamous spin move to the basket making the game level.
Rathmore secured 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Umeh took possession from the Rathmore side and a series assists set up Ogedegbe to take a lead. Madu and Umeh decided it was time to add another and blitzed past the Rathmore defence.
Justice Ihemes athleticism started to show as he secured super defensive rebounds to keep the Rathmore side at a minimum.
As a result of Ogedegbe’s dominance, Umeh began to gain more space for himself which saw him take his opportunity as he hit his first three pointer of the game.
Rathmore got their first score of the quarter. Iheme quickly followed putting his name on the scoresheet. This saw our side up by 6. Umeh hit another three forcing the Rathmore side into a time out as the CBS led by 9. Iheme and Madu went to work inside and put further baskets on the board.
Umeh caught fire as he hit another two three pointers. Rathmore hit their first three of the quarter. Iheme and Delaney kept defence tight, adding pressure to the opposition.
Iheme scored another transition lay up but a lapse in concentration saw Rathmore hit their third three point buzzer beater in the game as the CBS led by twelve heading into the final quarter.
Momentum had now swung back in Rathmore’s direction and nobody could call how the game was going to go with both sides showing grit and determination. Neither side letting their chances at the semi-final slip from their grip.
The fourth quarter opened with a three pointer from Rathmore and in quick succession added another. The pressure was showing on the CBS as they missed easy baskets in the middle of the quarter. Rathmore were now on top as they scored a couple of baskets under the rim as the CBS began to tire.
Ogedegbe put the CBS on the board with a basket but Rathmore meant business and secured another themselves. Rathmore scored again and they went up by four with a couple of minutes to play. The arena was electric. Iheme secured a free throw.
Ogedegbe danced the court on a solo mission and was rewarded for his efforts with a beautiful layup. Rathmore were under pressure as the
CBS showed great defense and fell to a shot clock violation at a critical point in the game.
Tensions were high and the pressure was on with one between the two sides as Rathmore hit a free throw to leave them up by two with a minute and 30 seconds left in the game. CBS called a timeout and Ogedegbe scored a basket with the next play.
The CBS defence stood strong over the next couple of plays and secured possession with two seconds left as the game was level.
CBS had possession and they took a timeout. A sideline ball for the CBS saw the ball go loose and Umeh and Ogedegbe fought for possession and Ogedegbe scored which left no time left on the clock.
Portlaoise CBS 39 St Joseph’s Patrician College Galway (The Bish) 41
All-Ireland U-16 ‘A’ Basketball Semi Final
St Mary’s CBS got stuck into this game from the very beginning.
Inside scoring coming from Mark Madu and Justice Iheme and meant the CBS were up early in this game.
The Bish struggled to contain Jayden Umeh and Desmond Ogedegbe. The CBS zone proved too hard to infiltrate as The Bish struggled to score inside the key.
Fantastic footwork along with aggressive driving led to impressive finished from Desmond who led the first quarter in scoring.
The score was painsktakingly close and there was all to play for going into the second quarter with the scoreboard 11-10 to our side.
Scott Davis checked into the game early in the second quarter and immediately made an impact with outlet passes leading into fast break scores.
The Bish were visibly more comfortable after the first as they began to score from beyond the arc and around the midrange area. However, pick and rolls between Jayden and Madu exploited the gaps in The Bish defence as the second quarter progressed.
Despite continued scores from the CBS lads The Bish took and kept a five-point lead going into the third quarter.
Jim Hanamy and Jayden continued to expose flaws in The Bish’s man defence as quick zip passes led to wide open shots early in the third quarter.
The two teams battled back and forth in this quarter, trading basket after basket as tensions began to run high. Baskets being scored by an unstoppable Desmond one more who was coming off a game winner only a mere hour prior.
Nevertheless, The Bish began to adapt to the fast-paced offence as they slowed the game down to their own pace.
The change of pace proved as challenging to the lads as The Bish kept the lead going into the fourth despite extremely aggressive offensive from the lads.
Vicious rebounding from Mark Delaney and Madu proved to be affective, and the intensity rose as the game progressed into the fourth and final quarter.
Jayden proceeded to rack up assists as he dimed passes to Desmond and Scott. The atmosphere in the arena was ecstatic and with time winding down both teams began to play physical defence.
The Bish began to collapse in on the key and quickly recovering to guard open shooters as the CBS struggled during a two-minute scoring drought. Jayden ran the offence down with 2:34 remaining and after a small rotation by coach Mr. Duignan the team recovered after another impressive score by Desmond.
With 1:29 left Ben Quigley came up huge for CBS by with a three pointer from the left wing cutting it to a one-point deficit.
After two crucial possessions the lads managed to get a stop and the ball back with 4.3 seconds left on the clock. Duignan called a timeout and wrote a play for a Jayden to receive the ball off of a screen.
Jayden caught the ball and came off a quick ball screen from Mark Madu who dove to the basket. Jayden saw the open man under the basket and swung it to Mark, who was unfortunately blocked on his game winning layup attempt.
An unfortunate loss for St. Mary’s CBS despite a huge effort from everyone involved. A fantastic achievement by our lads demonstrating resilience to the very end.
The team received bronze All-Ireland medals for their tremendous efforts.
PORTLAOISE CBS: Ibrahim Ahmed, Desmond Ogedegbe, Demilade Sonupe, Scott Davis, Aaron McCormack, Jayden Umeh, Jim Hanamy, Mark Delaney, Tawanda Mahona, Mark Madu, Callum Kiernan, Ethan Kelly, Ben Quigley, Justice Iheme, Tawana Kazunga
