Killester win national cup

PYROBEL Killester secured a memorable 82-59 point victory over Singleton SuperValu Brunell at the National Basketball Arena to scoop the Hula Hoops Paudie O’Connor National Cup title and end a 15-year drought since their last win.

American pair Adella Randel El and Christa Reed combined for a whopping 43 points in a superb display for the north Dubliners, while co-captain Rebecca Nagle chipped in 12 points from behind the three-point line.

“We've waited for this for a long time,” said Nagle afterwards. “Our last appearance in a final was in 2016 and it's been in the back of our heads ever since. We knew we could do it. Credit to Brunell, they were amazing but I'm so proud of the girls.”

Head coach Karl Kilbride said: “We said before the game that defence was going to be the difference between winning and losing. We really knuckled down in the third quarter. 

“We held them to six points and when we get stops it lets us get out and run and shoot threes in transition. It's very hard to describe how I feel at the moment.”

Meanwhile, despite their best efforts Killester WBC couldn’t make it a local double, losing 60-47 to Rebel Wheelers in the Hula Hoops IWA Wheelchair Basketball Cup Final.

The two teams served up one of the best IWA finals of recent years, with tactics, skill and defence to the fore while superb work at both ends of the floor saw some fantastic passages of play.