THE Irish Wheelchair Association’s heaquarters in Clontarf was the venue last Saturday week (May 6) for a feast of basketball provided by teams from all over the country.
Killester Wheelchair Basketball Club was the host club for the Irish Wheelchair Basketball National League event run by IWA Sport.
The National League takes the team all over the country competing against the nine other teams in the league.
Killester WBC is one of the longest running wheelchair basketball teams in the country. They are based at the IWA Clontarf and the team consists of both players with disabilities and able-bodied players.
During the course of the season, each team in the league gets to host one League Day. On this day, all 10 teams from across the country go to the one venue and five matches are played over the course of the day.
The event not only offers some very competitive matches, but also gives players the opportunity to socialise with each other.
On May 6, Killester WBC hosted their League Day, the penultimate round of the National League.
The locals were victorious in a hard fought match against Limerick Scorpions, pulling away in the final quarter to secure the win (66-47).
Joe Hargrow, from Limerick Scorpions, was the game’s top scorer with 25 points, closely followed by Killester WBC’s Michael Cunningham who finished the game on 21 points and eight assists. The day also saw wins for Clonalsee WBC, Ballybrack Bulls, NI Knights and South East Swifts.
Minister of State for Disabilties Finian McGrath was one of the many spectators on what was a fantastic day of wheelchair basketball.
Minister McGrath joined Killester WBC on the bench for their match and helped cheer the team on to victory.
Killester WBC now head into the final round of fixtures sitting in second place just behind NI Knights, having suffered only one defeat all season against the tabletoppers.
The final standings of the league will determine the fixtures for the IWA Sport Cup Finals at the National Indoor Arena on Saturday, May 27, where Killester WBC hope to lift the Paddy Byrne Cup.
For more information on Killester WBC please like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter (@KillesterWBC) or email killesterwheelchair@gmail.com
