Sport

Turner inspires Killester

BASKETBALL NATIONAL CUPS: JERMAINE TURNER enjoyed his “sweetest” moment in Irish basketball yesterday as he inspired Killester…

Mon Feb 01 2010 - 00:00

BASKETBALL NATIONAL CUPS:JERMAINE TURNER enjoyed his "sweetest" moment in Irish basketball yesterday as he inspired Killester with an MVP performance to help his side to a fourth National Cup success after a 94-69 demolition of UCC Demons.

The win ensured Turner’s long wait for a cup final medal had come to an end and afterwards he admitted his relief after a performance that yielded 29 points.

“The first is always the sweetest,” said Turner. “I have waited nine years for this. Nine years is a long time – a lot of teams and a lot of games. I finally got one.

“We were focused,” he added. “We wanted to get redemption for what happened last year when we lost to Demons in the cup final. They beat us in the league this season so we wanted to send a message out that we weren’t to be messed with today.

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“We have a nice team – a nice blend – I am going to celebrate this win. Soak this up for a couple of days and then get back to work.”

The contest was over at half-time with Killester holding an unassailable 60-24 advantage and there was no way back for the 2009 double winners.

Meanwhile, DCU Mercy Head Coach Mark Ingle hailed the display of MVP Lindsay Peat after the club secured their first National Cup success courtesy of a thrilling 68-55 win over Team Montenotte Hotel Cork.

The outcome ended Team Montenotte Hotel Cork’s dreams of a fourth cup title in a row and put an end to Mercy’s cup woes in recent years.

“Lindsay was very steady,” said Ingle. “She is an emotional roller-coaster most of the time. Someone once said that if you have a leader that’s calm and articulate go with that but if you have a leader that’s a braveheart then you have to go with that too and that’s what we did.

“They did mostly everything I could have asked of them today,” added Ingle. “They rebounded really well. Montenotte made a great run in the third quarter. They are not champions for nothing.”

Mercy overturned a 10-point deficit in the early stages to lead 23-18 at the end of the first quarter but it was their dominance in the final quarter that ensured their years of waiting for the most glittering prize in Irish women’s basketball was over.

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