Killarney Cougars 85
Drogheda Wolves 113
Report: David Ahern
In a high-scoring and exciting encounter at the Presentation Gym in Killarney, Drogheda Wolves overcame the Killarney Cougars with an impressive 113-85 victory in the President’s National Cup.
From the start, the Wolves set the pace, leading from the end of the opening quarter and delivering a powerful offensive game that kept the young Cougars under pressure throughout.
The Wolves started well with a fast-pace through the first quarter but the Cougars worked hard to stay in touch with a spread of scores from Joshua Strongman, points, Kani Glover and Nathan Cox but the Wolves’ power and size on the boards was a problem the Cougars found hard to solve.
Stephen Safo and Christian Simmons were in top form as they edged ahead 36-30 in an exciting first quarter.
This early surge established their dominance and they followed up with a commanding second quarter, with six three-pointers, five by Fransisco Antonio early in the quarter to outscore the Cougars 30-14 to build a solid 66-44 lead by half-time.
Although the Cougars fought back well in the third quarter through and managed to trim the lead slightly through a better defensive effort and baskets by Kani Glover and Gerdas, Drogheda’s consistent scoring and defensive intensity held the home side at bay to lead 86-67 entering the final quarter.
A determined effort from the Cougars early in the final quarter was not enough to disrupt the Wolves who responded each time they were threatened by the Cougars’ effort.
Christian Simmons led the way for Drogheda, finishing with a game-high 33 points. His scoring prowess, supported by Fransisco Antonio’s 21 points and Stephen Safo’s 16, formed the backbone of the Wolves’ offence.
Drogheda’s balanced scoring attack saw contributions from multiple players, with Denzel Ebose (12), Paul Adedeji (10) both making key scores from the bench to maintain their team’s lead.
For Killarney, Kani Glover played a crucial role, putting up a strong 25 points, followed closely by Josh Strongman’s 24.
Gerdas Malukas added 17 points and while these performances helped the Cougars stay competitive early on, they couldn’t keep up with Drogheda’s relentless scoring.
Despite Killarney’s efforts, including a spirited 23-20 third quarter, they were unable to close the gap, and the Wolves finished strongly to seal the win.
The victory highlighted the Drogheda Wolves’ strength and depth, against a young Killarney team who had plenty of positive performances and will aim to regroup for the trip to Ulster University on next Saturday.
Killarney Cougars scorers Kani Glover: 25, Josh Strongman: 24, Gerdas Malukas: 17, Nathan Cox: seven, Patrick O’Regan and Andrew Fitzgerald: four each.
Drogheda Wolves scorers: Christian Simmons: 33, Francisco Antonio: 21,Stephen Safo: 16,Denzel Ebose: 12,Paul Adedeji: 10,Robert Sullivan: nine Tiago Santos Dos Pereira: six
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