Having taken in the first two weekends of Ireland’s pre-season, including the Mangan Classic hosted by UCC Demons, Emmet Ryan shares his thoughts ahead of the men’s Super League basketball campaign
Pre-season is, by its very nature, a necessary pain. It involves teams playing what they hope will be their worst basketball. Well, at least worse than in games that matter. There’s rust amongst familiar faces. New names need time to gel. Everyone has to get their fitness back to some degree. It’s when basketball is meant to be at its worst.
Ireland’s Super League teams must face this challenge the same way as all other basketball outfits across Europe and the world. This summer however there have been some sensible moves.
A classic not a tournament
The decision by UCC Demons to host a bunch of games with many different teams over the weekend was fairly normal. What wasn’t was that they opted against the tournament format.
The Mangan Classic, named for the club’s sponsor Mangan Group, deliberately eschewed that approach. In order to make matters as convenient for as many clubs as possible, they figured that just making as many pairings as worked was best.
From my experience on Saturday, I’ve got to agree with the idea. The previous night, Ballincollig played the hosts. This morning, instead of returning to the Mardyke they headed to Galway for Maree’s tournament instead. Tralee Warriors meanwhile only had Saturday suiting them. So they came to Cork and played twice in consecutive games with Killorglin and the hosts.
It’s September
Pat Price, the head coach of Neptune, has a different mind to me. That’s probably a good thing. His side had to go to overtime against Limerick Celtics in Saturday’s opener before prevailing by a point. Overtime in preseason is just a disgusting concept for me. Price, the wiser man in this conversation, noted he appreciated getting to see his side play a few more minutes to help his preparation.
Celtics, who play in the National League, should be happy to be annoyed. Facing Super League opposition, they looked like they belonged in Saturday’s opener despite going up against a higher tier opponent. Celtics would return later in the day to face Killester. Two outings in one day was too much for them. The fresher Killester looked comfortable enough throughout.
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If it works
Limerick Celtics having to play twice in a day was an onerous enough challenge. Tralee Warriors took that to another level. Due to scheduling with matters back in Kerry, they sought to play both of their games back to back.
The opener with Killorglin was a ding dong battle, featuring a sight Cork people will have to get used to. Even with Dublin eyes, it’s odd seeing Jordan Blount playing in anything but Neptune colours but he looked in good shape in his first game back in the Rebel County since his move.
Tralee Warriors took the win 71-70. Then they had about 17 minutes to get ready to face UCC Demons. Despite having to play literally twice as much basketball as normal, the extra task didn’t seem to phase them. Warriors led coming out of the third quarter but eventually succumbed 111-105 in overtime.
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A week is a long time
There were two stops on my travels last week. Granted, I only managed a quarter of St Vincent’s win over Drogheda Wolves. It would have been a full half but I got lost looking for the entrance. That’s an Emmet problem not a St Vincent’s one. Between that and DBS Éanna’s game with Cheshire Phoenix, the common theme was that both Super League sides were very early in their preparations.
While the 5 Super League outfits in the Mardyke on Saturday looked like they still have work to do, the extra week of work was visible. The Irish basketball season proper starts on 5 October. Several teams are still finalising rosters. In a league that is part-time with a majority of amateurs, pre-season is rarely long. These few weeks ahead will be crucial.
Our big project and a lovely sight
Normally the highlight of pre-season is that getting to see any basketball is good basketball. While true, that was surpassed this weekend for most people in the Mardyke and not just among those from hosts UCC Demons. Getting to see and chat with Declan King, a long-time servant of the sport in Ireland but especially with Killester, was a delight. I was far from the only person thrilled to get to chat to him and I know I speak for many in wishing him the best.
You’ll be able to catch Declan in what is our most ambitious project yet on YouTube. Towards the end of the month, our mammoth men’s Super League preview video will go live. It is the first part of what we plan on being more in-depth content over the next few months. Naturally, if you haven’t already please subscribe to our YouTube channel at the link above.
