The stakes and the noise were high in Calasanctius College on Saturday night, even as much of Maigh Cuilinn’s parish attention was fixed elsewhere — the footballers were in Salthill, in the process of delivering a dramatic county title. On the hardwood, however, it was Maree who celebrated, overturning a blistering Maigh Cuilinn start to win 77–65 in a game that swung violently in tone and discipline.

Maigh Cuilinn could hardly have scripted a better beginning. Five minutes in, they led 4–19 — an opening three-pointer followed by strong interior scores from John Hackett and captain Grant Olsson signalling that the visitors had travelled with purpose. But that sudden superiority evaporated. Maree steadied themselves, leaned on the dual threat of American guard Isaiah Taylor and Kosovan forward Rinor Dragusha, and roared back to close the quarter ahead, 23–21.

The second period belonged wholly to Maree. Maigh Cuilinn staggered through a damaging drought, scoring just 8 points and missing all five of their three-point attempts. Maree, by contrast, hit 19 in the quarter and went to the dressing room with a 42–29 half-time advantage.

If the second quarter wounded Maigh Cuilinn, the third inflicted something closer to self-harm. In what is always a heated local rivalry, frustration tipped into loss of control. When Aitor Perez fouled out early in the half, he reacted by kicking the ball against the wall, earning an automatic technical. He then added another by directing words at the referee as he exited. Crucially, because he was already disqualified, the technicals were recorded as “bench technicals” against head coach Paul O’Brien. Later in the game, further dissent from the bench brought a third bench technical — automatically disqualifying O’Brien, who had to leave the venue while play continued.

Those moments drained whatever emotional oxygen Maigh Cuilinn had left for a comeback attempt. They won the third quarter 17–18 — a net gain of just a single point when they needed something seismic — and although they finished strongly, trimming a 19-point Maree lead down to 12 in the closing minutes, the outcome never truly returned to doubt.

Maree’s win was built on firm hands at the top of the ticket — Dragusha finished with a superb 31 points and Taylor with 15 — and by contrast Maigh Cuilinn struggled to generate clean looks, managing only 12 team assists across the entire contest. One further concern is the condition of veteran guard James Loughnane, who exited with a calf injury after only one minute.

Maigh Cuilinn scorers: Grant Olsson 26, Antonio Molina 16, John Hackett 8, Ivan Basic 8, John Hynes 3, Eoin Cleary 2, Aitor Perez 2, Dylan Cunningham, Rory O’Sullivan, Liam Moloney, James Loughnane, Ray Bonar.

Categories: Men's Superleague