Boys NBA Tournament
Tournament starts Tuesday 13th May in Douglas Community School and will run for 4 weeks. Players must try where possible to make all games as there are only 7 players per team to give boys maximum court time. Team lists and game schedules can be downloaded here
Club of the Year !!
At the recent Cork County Basketball Board AGM, Fr Mathews Basketball Club were crowned 'Mens Club of the Year' for the 2007-08 season. This is the first time our Club has been bestowed with this prestigious award. The County Board make this award to clubs who are successful both on and off the court and who also demonstrate strong basketball principles as well as dedication to developing the sport through their teams.
Fr Mathews has indeed 'ticked all the boxes' on these counts over the past season and this award is acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of everyone who has played a part in developing the club in recent years and contributed to the ever growing number of teams in our club. There are far too many people involved in a coaching as well as an administrative capacity to thank individually, so to everyone in the Club, this is your trophy.
Well done to you all
Primary School Tournament
Well done to all those who took part in and organised the recent primary schools tournament. Match reports to follow. Check out our gallery for photographs.
U10 and U14 Girls in Championship Finals
In what has been a great year for Fr MAthews girls and boys teams in terms of growth and success the girls U-10 and U-14-B1 teams are in championship finals on the 4th and 5th of April.
Demons Win U-16 Invitational Tournament
Congratulations to Blue Demons on their win in the U-16 tournament held on 15th March in Christ the King Secondary school. Demons fought wel against a determined Ballincollig team to win the prize.
Richmond basketball team travelled from London to add an international flavour to the competition. Their high energy and committment was appreciated and enjoyed by all. Many thanks to Waterford, Carraigaline and of course our own Fr Mathews team for their support on the day. Go to ourphoto gallery for many photographs of what was a great day. Well done to all!
Find the Clpboard Winner
The winner of the April 'Find the Clipboard' competition was Paul Hegarty (c/o Mark O'Keeffe).
U12Bs Win 2008 Championship
Following hot on the heels of their U12 tournament win a few weeks ago, Fr Mathews U12 boys team lifted the 2008 B Championship with a convincing win over their old rivals Glanmire in the Parochial Hall last Saturday. In a very exciting game Mathews led from the start and although they never lost the lead during the game the East Cork team did pull the boys in red’ back to 3 points on several occasions during the second half. It all made for a very tense and nerve racking finish but the scoring prowess of Aidan Power & Michael Lynch, in conjunction with the ball handling skills of Jordan Cashman & Ethan King, proved too hot to handle for Glanmire and Mathews won the game with a winning margin of 7 points.
This is the second trophy Mark O'Keeffe and Pat King's boys have won during the month of February and with a Top 4 place a certainty now they have a great chance of achieving a clean sweep of all 4 competitions this season U12 Tournament & Championship already in the bag with the League and Top 4 still to come.
U11-As narrowly miss out
Earlier on Saturday morning our U11 boys competed in the A final against Neptune. Despite putting up a gallant fight against the top team in the U11A league, they were unable to secure the victory and lost out by 6 points to their rivals from Blackpool. Unfortunately for Paul Manning's charges they were never able to get on level terms with Neptune and although they made a spirited fight back in the 4th quarter, getting to within 4 points, the clock caught up with them in the end.
It was very clear, however, to everyone who was in th Hall on Saturday, that we will see much more from these lads over the coming years and the experience of competing in last Saturday's final will stand to them in the seasons to come. The fact that they were the first team in the Club's history to reach an A final is an achievement that should not go unnoticed.
U18 A Semi Final v Ballincollig
In the senior semi final in the afternoon, Ballincollig gained revenge for their U11 defeat by beating our U18 boys. In fairness Mathews were up against one of the best U18 teams in the country. This team had made national headlines recently by getting to their second National Finals in 2 years so it was always going to be an uphill battle for John McHales lads. They gave a good account of themselves but it wasn’t to be their day. Still it is no disgrace to go out against the best U18 team in the country.
So with our Club playing in 2 Finals next Saturday it would be great for these boys to see as many supporters as possible up in the Parochial Hall next Saturday decked out in red and white cheering them on to, hopefully, two more cups this year.
U-15s win Invitational Tournament and U-12s win Tournament
Our U15's were the first to lift a cup after a comprehensive win over Tramore in the U15 Invitational tournament in the Parochial Hall. A tough schedule saw them overcome Blue Demons, Ballincollig, Tramore and Glanmire in their Pool games and this was followed by another win over Tramore in the final.
Meanwhile in Christ the King's school, our U12's won their own Invitational Tournament by beating a very talented Glanmire side in a keenly contested final. Competing in this event were Glanmire, Carrigaline, Tramore, Waterford Crystal and our two U12B teams. This was the first boys invitational tournament held by the club and huge credit must go to Mark O'Keeffe (whose brainchild it was) for a wonderfully organised and successful event. The excitement throughout the day was incredible and every boy who competed, and indeed every adult who was there as a spectator, had a wonderful time. Throughout the day there were some very close games but the best team in the competition came out on top in the end with a 100% record over the course of the day. A very gallant effort was also put up by our second team who have learnt so much from this experience.
Congratulations to both teams on a wonderfully successful weekend
U-9 Tournament - Jan 26th 2008
Well done to our U-9 boys who took part in a U-9 tournament on Saturday Jan 26th in Parochial Hall. The future of the club is safe with these stars playing. A great effort was put in for the 4 games that took place against Blue Demons, St Anthonys and Ballincollig. For many of the boys it was their first competitive sporting game and for the more seasoned campaigners it was chance to dazzle the spectators with their silky skills.
Recent Match Reports
Fr Mathews U12B Blue played two league games during the week. On Wednesday they played away against Glanmire in a game they had to win to keep their chances of winning the league alive. And what a game it turned out to be. League leaders Glanmire were favourites having beaten Fr Mathews twice this season. Fr Mathews started well taking the first quarter by 4 and maintaining this lead through the second quarter, ending the half 11- 15. Glanmire fought back in the third quarter and closed the gap to just 2. Both sides battled hard in a tense fourth quarter that saw the lead change four times before ending with a slim one point win for Fr. Mathews, 31-32. Michael Lynch had another strong game for Fr Mathews scoring 8 and rebounding well. Colm Daly's excellent defence prevented Glanmires score from increasing.
On Saturday the Blues played Carrigaline in another league game that Fr. Mathews won 27-15. Ethan King scored 10, Jordan Dowling 4 and Mark Horan 4. Brendan Ahern played a key defensive role to restrict Carrigalines scoring chances.
Fr Mathews U11As had a busy week with three matches with wins against St Anthonys and Carrig na bhFear and defeat to Neptune. Neptune controlled the first quarter to lead by 8, Fr Mathews recovered in the second quarter, Liam Harris scoring three great baskets and Jack O Sullivan taking a free shot well, to close the gap to 3. But Neptune pulled away and despite some great scores by Jack O Mahony and Liam Harris, Neptune won out 47 to 31. Owen Connolly and Evan Barrett also impressed for Fr Mathews.
Meanwhile the girls managed a clean sweep, winning all five of the weekends games.
Photos of our Teams
A lot of new team photos and shots from games have come in in the past couple of days. Click on the ones below or goto our gallery
About the Club
Fr Mathews Basketball Club is a vibrant club providing coaching and competition for boys and girls in the south city area. The club caters for hundreds of children from U9 to U17. Home games are played at Douglas Community School. Please feel freee to contact us at any time about coaching or team training.