Early lead gives Limerick edge

Basketball - Limerick 89 Star of the Sea 83: Trust the ESB Cup Finals to throw-up another reminder of the fragile certainties in sport. At the National Arena in Tallaght yesterday the battle for the senior men's title quickly turned into a non-contest, with Limerick walking all over Belfast opponents Star of the Sea.

Yet Cup honours in basketball rarely come easily and Star gradually forced Limerick to sweat. The title then was still juggling between the two in the closings seconds before if finally landed on Limerick's side - surprisingly for the first time ever.

It was a victory built on a remarkable team effort. Both Americans, BJ McFarland and Cleotis Brown, played their expected role, but Matthew Hall, Robert Lynch and team captain Tommy Walsh held their heads as high at the most testing moments in the final quarter.

Star owe so much of their fightback to Marvin Dixon - the man they call Junior - and the ever-present John Leahy, who along with Adrian Fulton, were both part of the Killester team that won they Cup last year. Entering the final climactic moments they must have thought about winning it again.

Having trailed 30-15 after the first quarter, and then 45-31 at the half, Star found new gears, taking it back to a 10-point game entering the final quarter. Limerick were not helped by at least a couple of dubious calls by the referees.

Still, it was Dixon and Leahy, whose ankle was heavily strapped throughout, who kept Star's hopes alive. Together they closed it to a six-point game as they clock ran down, and then Leahy's fireball three-pointer closed it to 83-80. The clock showed a little over a minute to play.

If Limerick were to lose their lead here it would most likely have been game over. McFarland was twice fouled, though, and his free throws made them breathe a little easier.

At the other end, Gareth Maguire fired in another three-pointer but time had run away. On the final buzzer Walsh did the same for Limerick and the celebrations could finally begin.

Limerick had set the court alight in the first quarter - all the more impressive considering they had a hard semi-final battle with Tralee less than 24 hours previously.