Three of the four Treaty sides took the court in the National Cup last weekend.
History was made last weekend as Limerick Celtics women’s team and Limerick Sport Eagles triumphed in their respective quarterfinals while the Celtics men’s team crashed out in an overtime battle in Dublin.
Limerick Celtics Women’s team
Cup quarter-final action saw Celtics take on Dublin side Templeogue at home in Cresent Comprehensive on Sunday.
After a tight first quarter, Celtics found themselves down to the traveling team halfway through the second.
Rallying behind Irish guard Lucy Devoy’s scoring prowess, Celtics fought back and took the lead into halftime.
Celtics jumped out to a 12-point lead and never looked back. Steady scoring and consecutive stops on defence saw them leading by as much as 23 points halfway through the fourth.
A late game fightback from Templeogue wasn’t enough to knock the Limerick sides lead and they finished out the game 74-64 victors. Celtics women’s team made history in the process as they will attend their first ever National League Cup semi-final, where they will face Oblates Dynamos.
Limerick Sport Eagles
Eagles were on the road to face league leaders SETU Carlow in the quarter-finals of the men’s National League Cup.
It was another tight game for Eagles who were trailing in the third quarter until new signing Owen Chose came alive by hitting back-to-back-to-back threes.
A slow start to the fourth saw Carlow lose their hold on the game and Eagles fired ahead up double digits.
Some late game fouling tactics saw Carlow manage to bring the game back to nine points, but it was too late and Eagles walked away as victors 94-85. They face Moy Tolka Rovers in the semifinals.
Limerick Celtics Mens Team
Celtics faced Moy Tolka Rovers in an overtime battle in Dublin. A slow start from Celtics saw them trail for the first three quarters behind a strong Tolka team.
Celtics rallied in the fourth and went up 90-88 with less than two minutes left on the clock. Disaster struck for Celtics when Spanish guard Juan Blanco missed back-to-back free throws to put the game away and Tolka scored to tie the game 90-90.
Overtime followed but Celtics were unable to keep up with Tolka, who scored nineteen points in the five minutes of extra time. The game finished 100-109 in favour of the Dublin side.