Ballina leave poor form behind to secure final spot

IN the kind of climax that typified the drama of Cup basketball Ballina reached the Sprite Cup final with a 76-75 win over Delta Notre Dame in the first semifinal at the National Basketball arena in Tallaght last night.

Ballina's depressing league form, which has seen them lose 11 of their 12 matches so far, bore little resemblance to their passionate display last night which rescues a seemingly desperate position.

Having led comfortably 49-37 at halftime with a fluid performance, in which Liam McHale and Jason Rubrite scored 37 points between them, the Mayomen lost composure in the opening minutes of the second half against a much sterner Delta defence.

The Dubliners piled on a remarkable total of 17 consecutive points in the first seven minutes alter the break to take a 54-51 lead but they could never pull away to a more decisive margin. When Tom O'Sullivan eventually levelled the game at 70 each, with a three pointer his only score of the game, for Ballina with three minutes remaining it was the surgeful play that spurred them to victory.

With the game tied again at 72-72, entering the last 45 seconds, two fouls on Paul McStay and one on McHale sent the Ballina duo to the free throwline from where they made four of the six attempts count.

That took the westerners into a 76-72 lead which Delta's Clive Brady reduced to a single point on the buzzer, but Ballina could celebrate as the clock ran out a split second later.