EJ Sligo All-Stars produced a gutsy display in Saturday’s men’s insuremyvan.ie Division 1 final at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin before losing out to UCC Demons 88-81.
The Demons, who finished top of the Southern Conference, had narrowly beaten the All-Stars in the semi-finals of the President’s Cup earlier this season – and they completed the double over Sligo in a highly entertaining play-off final.
The All-Stars moved into an early 10-6 lead thanks to a dunk from the lively Keith Jordan Jr. It wasn’t his only dunk in the game either, the American finished with 25 points in a fine overall performance.
It was UCC Demons who would lead by the end of the first quarter, 21-14.
Midway through the second quarter, a three pointer-from former All-Star Toby Christensen opened up an 11 point gap, UCC Demons 36-25 in front and they would lead by 11 at half-time too, 45-34.
The All-Stars had closed to three points by the end of the third quarter (62-59) but the Demons edged clear again in the final 10 minutes.
However, Sligo rallied once again – Cian Lally’s driving layup with 32 seconds to go made it a four point game with EJ Sligo All-Stars trailing 85-81.
But the day belonged to UCC Demons, who wrapped up an 88-81 win.
Despite this loss, the All-Stars end the season on a definite high with promotion to the Superleague next season already assure.
WATCH: https://t.co/fmowcYf9bL pic.twitter.com/NM9n8PeoD3
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) April 2, 2022
Earlier on Saturday, there was disappointment for the EJ Sligo All-Stars under-20 team in the men’s plate final as they lost out to Templeogue by 82 points to 67
Men’s Division 1 final
UCC Demons 88 EJ Sligo All-Stars 81
Men’s U20 Plate final
Templeogue BC 82 EJ Sligo All-Stars 67.
