Not pretty, but Notre Dame hold on to cup

In a final characterised by schoolyard errors, low shooting percentages, and frantic rather than flowing basketball, Notre Dame's sense of achievement in retaining the cup was undimmed by the undistinguished nature of their victory at the National Arena in Tallaght last night.

For the marketeers in the IBA, who can again claim a successful weekend of exciting if not always entertaining basketball, the packed houses over the three days proved that, whatever about the inconsistent nature of attendances at league level, the sport has a distinct national profile at cup playoff time.

Notre Dame can claim to have enhanced the recent success of the competition, as they seem intent on making dramas out of every game with their notorious habit of starting badly and coming back from heavy deficits to snatch victory in suitably heart-stopping finales.

Last night, they allowed Neptune to stretch away to a 12-point lead early in the first half. But their mediocrity was almost matched by their opponents who are, on this evidence, in serious need of rejuvenation.

Neptune have had a reputation of deploying their Irish players in key roles to complement the two foreign players on court. Last night, their Irish contingent were a major disappointment, and far too often the ball was fed to 6 ft 9 in Cuban Augusto Duquesne, or to the roving American Harold Joiner.

The 6 ft 3 in forward was chiefly responsible for sending Neptune into a 20-8 lead as the bulk of his 11 first-half points all came in the opening quarter. But the Cork men's lead was as much the product of Notre Dame's abysmal shooting from close range.

In one heavy-handed sequence of errors, Notre Dame missed 10 consecutive close range shots. Remarkably, in the last five minutes of the opening period, seven of their last nine shots, including five in a row, hit the target.

Neptune's double-figure lead was quickly cut back by that flurry, and at half-time Notre Dame were trailing by just 32-33.

After the interval, there was an intensity to Notre Dame that seemed to make Neptune back off, and sizeable holes appeared in their defence. Notre Dame's Damien Sealy, who had not scored in the entire first half, spotted the gaps and gleefully plundered a quick-fire nine points inside five minutes to help Notre Dame into a seven-point lead.

Neptune's response was at first ponderous, but as errors crept into the Notre Dame offence, Steve McCarthy hit six quick points, mostly from fast breaks, to keep the deficit manageable.

Notre Dame's supply lines then became less reliable and Duquesne's formidable presence under the Neptune basket was a major factor in turning the Corkmen's fortunes around again.

The inspiration in Neptune's offence, though, came initially from Joiner, who hit seven points in 90 seconds to finally tie the game again at 51-51 eight minutes into the second half.

Entering the last quarter, scores flew in at either end almost in equal measure; with less than four minutes left, Notre Dame led by a single point, 69-68.

On the scoreboard, the match may have appeared to have been finely balanced, but a close examination of either bench told a different story. Neptune had given their experienced players so much court time that they looked strained and uneasy, while Notre Dame were still operating comfortably at the intense pace.

The club, effectively playing on home court, also had around 1,500 screaming fans urging them on in the crowd of over 2,000, and that may have been a key factor in their heightened level of effort in the closing three minutes.

Randall Mounts, who had one of his quieter games up to then, suddenly appeared to find the confidence to take on the shots. A three-point play followed by another basket made the score 74-68 with less than two minutes to go.

It had been hard work for Notre Dame, whose player/coach, Anthony Jenkins, at least has some silverware to look at as he spends the next five months recovering from the ankle injury that forced him to sit out yesterday's final.