DCU Mercy completed a remarkable treble on basketball’s marquee weekend with a dramatic one-point triumph over Ambassador UCC Glanmire in the Hula Hoops Women’s National Cup final yesterday.
“Am I dreaming? To win by a point! Nobody even imagines that in cup finals,” said a dazed and emotional captain and MVP Sarah Woods after she put in a superb 21-point performance in the 72-71 triumph.
"We'll never forget this moment. It's been a while for the likes of myself and Aisling Sullivan – and for us to lift the cup together was extra special."
As well as the thrilling win against a five in-a-row chasing Glanmire – they also took the Under-18 and Under-20 women’s cup titles.
In yesterday’s evening’s final, the lead changed hands 12 times over the 40 minutes, with the Dubliners edging clear in the dying minutes.
Even then, Ashley Primm’s three-point attempt on the buzzer would have given Glanmire their fifth cup title in a row.
In the Senior Women’s Cup final, meanwhile, Fr Mathews stormed home to their first ever title with a 55-45 point win over Meteors.
The NICC Women’s National Cup is winging its way to Co Kerry as St Mary’s Castleisland put in a dominant final performance to overcome Pyrobel Killester 71-54.
In the opening game of the day at the National Basketball Arena, Moycullen and KUBS served up a thriller in the Under 20 men’s final. KUBS made up for the hurt of losing last year’s final by running out 68-65 winners.
On Saturday, Black Amber Templeogue were crowned Hula Hoops Men’s National Cup champions with a 68-62 point win over UCD Marian.
Templeogue’s win over their south Dublin rivals saw them complete a memorable double, with their Under-18s overcoming Neptune in their decider earlier in the day.
In the big showdown UCD threatened to take the lead with less than a minute remaining, but two vital steals from veteran Michael Bonaparte stemmed their momentum.
MVP Lorcan Murphy – who took the game high with 23 points – broke clear with an opportunity to slam his first dunk of the game in the dying seconds, but elected to fire the ball into the rafters of the National Basketball Arena in sheer joy as his side enjoyed their second title in three years.
