12.09.10 - Laura Brennan Memorial Basketball Tournament
The first Laura Brennan Memorial Tournament was a resounding success as eight teams battled for the magnificent crystal trophy. The tournament kicked off with Killester entertaining their friends from Gio Issa, Milan. Despite a spirited performance from the Italians Killester controlled the game and came out on top 52-29.
On the day itself the weather was not too kind to the competitors but this did not dampen the spirit of the girls from McCabes. There may have been no world records broken in terms of race times however all the hard work and effort was rewarded when a total of €600 was raised for the trust.
Next up was a Dublin derby that also proved to be a preview of the Final, with Swords taking on Tempelogue in a battle for top spot in pool B. In a closely contested game Swords just pipped their southside rivals 52-51.
Saturday was a busy day for the tournament committee with games in both Manor House and St Fintans. In Manor House Swords continued to impress with a big win over Tolka Rovers. Carraig na bhFearr put in a gutsy performance against Tempelogue before going down 56-37 but they showed great stamina and skill in beating Tolka 49-47 in a very exciting game.
Meanwhile in St Fintans, Wildcats were very impressive with comfortable wins over Gio Issa, 64-26 and Maree 66-31, while Killester overcame Maree 48-44 in a very exciting encounter that went to overtime and could have gone either way.
After the break for lunch Killester came from 10 points down to pip Wildcats 39-37 in a thriller. Tempelogue continued to impress with a comfortable win over Tolka Rovers, 76-34, and Gio Issa and Maree entertained the big crowd with some great offence before Maree’s greater experience helped them to a 51-49 win.
Last game on Saturday had Swords looking for the win that would give them top spot in Pool B and Carraig na bhFearr in with a chance of making the semi finals if they could manage to win by 11 points or better. Swords took control early and looked to be cruising to a big win but the girls from Cork put in a spirited last quarter and reduced the deficit to 6 points with 2 minutes left before Swords regained their composure and pulled away again to win 54-41.
Sunday morning in Manor House had Tolka Rovers and Gio Issa playing off for 7th and 8th place. A young Tolka team showed great potential in their win over the Italians and Carraig na bhFearr were delighted to overcome Maree in the 5th and 6th place playoff.
Just up the road in Sutton, Swords proved too strong for Wildcats in the first semi final and Killester were hoping to overcome a strong Tempelogue squad despite missing Paula Mahon and Michelle Clarke who both picked up knocks on Saturday. In a tremendous encounter the hosts just came up one point short and their dream of being the first Laura Brennan Memorial Tournament winners was over.
The final was a close affair with the teams exchanging the lead regularly. The game breaker was Tempelogue number 14, Michelle Keogh, who scored 9 points without reply which helped to open up a 15 point lead for Tempelogue with 3 minutes on the clock. Swords came back with a strong finish, courtesy of the Black sisters but came up 6 points short at the buzzer.
Laura’s parents, Pat and Nula presented the trophy to a delighted Tempelogue team to cap what was a fantastic weekend of basketball, fun and friendships and lots of food!!! A sincere thank you to all the teams who joined us in remembering our beloved Laura. To all the referees, table officials, parents and friends of Killester we thank you for your support and for helping us to produce a weekend to remember.
Laura was part of a fantastic team that represented Killester with great pride and integrity. Her team mates, Jenny, Jade, Kate, Aisling, Sarah, Iseult, Ciara and Ruth along with the girls who are in the USA at school, Alex, Hannah and Mimi were determined to make this annual tournament a special event and with a little bit of help from Ger, Johnny and myself I believe they did her proud.
Roll on September 2011
Pete Ferrari
Tournament Committee
View Photos of the Tournament
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Daughter to Nuala & Pat Brennan,
sister to Anna and Shane, strong competitor and
friend to countless people... read more about the
beautiful girl that was
Laura
Brennan >> |
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