Dublin basketball erupted yesterday afternoon in the National Arena when emerging city club Tolka Rovers dethroned the Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats in a thriller which turned in the final precious seconds.
Trailing by six points with two minutes remaining and facing a Tolka side thriving on adrenaline, Wildcats - hot favourites to retain the trophy - dug deep. Twice they snatched a lifeline through offensive rebounds before Michelle Maguire stepped back and calmly swished a `three'.
Eimear Howard, Tolka's versatile forward, drove through the heart of Wildcats defence on the next possession only to thunder into Gillian Hayes, turning the ball over.
Wildcats came up dry again on their next offence but a steal by Mary Fitzpatrick saw them swing the ball to Michelle Aspell who went for the jugular, pumping another three-point shot. Her effort rimmed out but Maguire snatched the rebound and was fouled as she laid the ball in, leaving the score at 58-59 with a bonus shot to come.
Twenty three seconds remained, Maguire missed the free throw and although Tolka needed only to retain possession, desperate Wildcats defence prevented them from getting the ball over the halfway line in the required 10 seconds and, astonishingly, there remained a chink of light for the southern side.
Tolka, though, stood firm and forced Wildcats to swing the ball around the perimeter and Aspell's pressure shot was partially blocked and there it ended.
It was perhaps a pity for basketball that this game wasn't screened live last night, for it matched Saturday evening's classic between Star and Blue Demons in terms of skill, guts and sheer unpredictability.
Tolka were outstanding on defence, limiting Wildcats' potentially lethal fast break and ensuring that Hayes, Maguire and Fitzpatrick earned their buckets inside.
Yet at the break, it did look as though Wildcats had too much in reserve for Tolka. They led 36-27 and with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Hayes spun the baseline and banked a shot to leave her side 44-31 to the good.
But there was a composure, a belief evident in Tolka's offensive pattern (possibly stemming from the fact that they are the only side to have beaten Wildcats in the league this year) and they never looked likely to fade out of contention.
So it transpired: Howard and MVP Rachel Kelly were causing all sorts of bother under the boards, popping bank shots, scavenging for rebounds and running the floor well.
With the score at 48-39 late in the third quarter, Kelly sank a pair of free throws and then Loiuse O'Brien drained a three-pointer to push Tolka within four.
Early in the fourth, Hayes was called for a foul on a Wildcats' possession and Kelly fired another jump-shot for Tolka, who visibly grew in self-belief with every successful attempt.
Suddenly, they were on fire - Louise O'Brien emulated the sweet shooting touch her identical twin Nicola displayed earlier and hit a three to give Tolka their first lead of the half and then Sharon Kelly snatched an offensive board and scored.
Wildcats struggled to respond and Tolka came again, Kelly popping another jump shot to give her side a 53-50 lead.
Wildcat's Aspell then drilled a wonderful pass for Hayes to convert as the time ticked to under three minutes, initiating their late recovery but Tolka were well worth what was a very emotional win.
This gives the Dublin side their first cup and with a young, very solid side, coach Noel Murphy looks to have a squad likely to set the pace once this current Wildcats era begins to pale.
When Wildcats coach Craig Madzinski reflects on this game, he will probably rue his side's comparatively poor shooting touch. His players converted only 18 of 49 shots from the field while Tolka popped 16 of 35 and were also extremely accurate from the charity line.
That said, it was old fashioned nerve and gutsy defence which earned this year's trophy.
Tolka Rovers: R Dixon (5), L O'Brien (8), D Masterson, F Gavin, F Gavin, G O'Reilly (3), S Kelly (9), N O'Brien (5), E Scally, R Kelly (15), E Howard (14).
Wildcats: E Griffin, J Hayes (14), O O'Reilly (7), M Fitzpatrick (12), C White (4), M Maguire (12), C Kiely, O Dempsey (4), M Aspell (5).
