The Irish Wheelchair Basketball squad have begun their quest for promotion to Division B at the European Championships, where they faced Sweden and Finland on day one and Armenia on day two.
Ireland are currently competing in the European Championships, Division C in Samokov, Bulgaria. Drawn into Pool B, they kicked off their campaign facing Sweden and Finland on day one and Armenia on day two.
DAY ONE
In the opening game Ireland seemed to be in control in an albeit tight contest. Starting strong and building a 6-point lead midway through the first quarter, however Sweden fought back and tied the game in the dying seconds of the first quarter.
A contest that went back and forth, Ireland always managed to keep their necks in front up until the third quarter when Sweden finally took the lead for the first time. After that, the Swedes battened down the hatches and shut Ireland out. The Irish couldn’t break through the Swedish defense and get into the key, being forced to take risky shots that ultimately didn’t pay off.
Kept at arms length, it seemed Ireland had run out of steam and ideas in the final quarter and couldn’t pull themselves back into the contest. The buzzer went with Sweden picking up the win 48-43.
Neil Carlisle lines up a shot. Photo by Mélodie Gagneux
Redemption was on the cards for Ireland though as they returned to action in the afternoon, facing Finland. In what became a must-win game to keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds, Ireland and in particular Matthew Rollston came flying out of the blocks, opening up an early 6-point lead.
When Finland composed themselves, they battled back to overturn the gap and went on to take an 8-point lead at one stage in the first half. Heading into the changing room at half time, the Irish needed inspiration and whatever was said by Head Coach Con Coughlan, Ireland came out like the Fighting Irish to turn things around.
A strong showing in the third quarter and great defensive work made life very difficult for Finland. Ireland forcing a lot of turnovers, missed shots and poor passes. Conor Coughlan and Neil Carlisle put on a great display as the squad fought back, along with pinpoint accuracy from Adam Drummond to sink shots from all angles.
The great determination from the side saw them end day one in the win column, beating Finland 55-43. Speaking at the end of the day to IWA-Sport, Head Coach, Con Coughlan reflected on a mixed-bag of an opening day.
“A tough loss in game one against a strong Sweden side. We started strong and finished strong but could not sustain for 40 minutes as we were down players of calibre in Jack Quinn, Joe Hargrow and Jack Mangan.
“We turned it around in the second game against Finland. Started strong, left it slip for a little but finished the third quarter strong and continued into fourth quarter to secure a good victory. Roll on Armenia tomorrow.”
DAY TWO
And roll on, they did. In their third game of the tournament Ireland were tasked with taking on Armenia.
It was a very one-sided affair as soon as the referee threw the ball up to start the game. A dominant display in every aspect, Ireland smothered Armenia and stormed into a 21-00 lead to end the first quarter.
The game saw Jack Quinn return to action after nursing a shoulder injury and the coaches took advantage of the one-sided contest by rotating their line-up throughout.
What felt like watching a training match by the end, Ireland romped to victory with an impressive score of 80-08.
Speaking on their day two triumph, Rebel Wheelers’ Adam Drummond reflected on the win.
“It was an enjoyable game. We were able to work on and execute some actions that we set out to do. It was great to see fellow Rebel Wheeler, Darragh O’Regan make his debut and get top scorer too. We’re focused now for tomorrow’s game against Belgium and I think we’ll be ready.”
Ireland play their final Pool B game tomorrow morning, where they’ll face Belgium at 11:30am IST.
Before then, all eyes will be on the game between Sweden and Belgium at 1:45pm today, where a win for Sweden will increase Ireland’s chances of progression. Although that’ll only be half the battle with Ireland needing to beat Belgium on Wednesday too.
DAY THREE
Wednesday was crunch time and there was only one option for Ireland against Belgium to keep promotion hopes alive – win.
Belgium found themselves in the same boat and it showed in the first qurter when both sides traded blows with no one side taking control of the contest. It was in the second quarter that Ireland appeared to come to life and began to pull away, with good build-up play to create channels to shoot from and also forcing Belgium into making mistakes under pressure. Ireland’s efforts paid off and held an 8-point lead over Belgium at half time with a score of 26-18.
The third quarter began as Ireland ended the previous quarter, trying to pressure Belgium into turning over the ball but a long break appeared to rejuvinate the opposition who managed to claw their way back into the game. Ireland struggled to keep them out of the key and it felt that every other shot from the Belgians was going in.
Like a pendulum swinging, Ireland kept their necks in front for the majority of the fourth but Belgium always had a response and kept it to a one-point game. In the final three minutes of the game, Ireland held a three point lead and seemed to be holding on. Even within the final minute and Drummond scored one of two free-throws to make it 57-55, Ireland just had to keep Belgium at arms length and see the remaining minute out.
However, a contact foul from Mangan gave Belgium a chance to tie the game with 19 seconds on the clock. The Belgians made only one of their two free-throws to make it a one-point game and in turn made each second ticking away feel like minutes.
It seemed to be the same for the Irish too, with play resuming and a stray pass from Carlisle falling short of making it to Coughlan, forcing a turnover. Belgium found their way in under the basket with a bit of luck as an interception was avoided and while the first attempt missed, the rebound made its way into the basket.
58-57 to Belgium, two seconds left on the clock.
Ireland called a timeout to tactically move the restart down to the other end of the court. However, Drummonds pass to Barnes was in vain when his buzzer-beater failed to make the net.
A devastating loss for Ireland, who now play in the Crossover to decide their final placing in the tournament to close their tournament and will remain in Division C.
Day Four
The final day of the Championships saw Ireland take on Czech Republic in the 5th/6th place play-off.
While not the play-off neither side wanted to find themselves in, both made it tense opening quarter as they traded blows back and forth, with the score locked at 12-12.
The second quarter was when Ireland burst to life and grabbed the fixture by the scruff of the neck. Shutting down most attempts from the Czech, their defensive display was outstanding. And while they kept the opposition out, Ireland found a way in and began to open up a healthy lead of 11 points at half time.
After being dealt a tough defeat on Wednesday, the resillience of the Irish squad shone as they continued to dominate the tie. With sultry passing, drawing fouls and continued to pull away with the game all but done by the end of the third when they lead 56-32. The final quarter was a procession even with their foot off the gas for the final 10 minutes. A great defensive display saw Ireland only concede three baskets in the last quarter, while adding an impressive 14 points on the board to seal fifth place.
It may not have been the end the team hoped for but a generally young squad, international debutants and great talent, the future is bright for this Irish Wheelchair Basketball team.
