Year 8 Basketball Ulster Cup and Shield
The year 8 basketball Ulster Cup and Shield was held before Christmas at Lisburn Racquets club. Laurelhill girls competed in a very difficult Cup competition against Rathmore, St Dominic’s and St. Genevieve’s.
The girls played brilliantly and gave maximum effort in every game with this being the first time many of the girls had ever played basketball. Unfortunately, the other schools were too strong for our girls as we finish 4th in the pool stages. Player of the tournament for the girls was Abbi A-B who’s rebounding and defence was excellent!
The boys competed in the Ulster Shield competition and came against Aquinas, St. John’s The Baptist, Forthill and St. Ciaran’s. The boys secured a narrow win 8-6 in their opening game against an experienced Aquinas side with many players associated with top clubs in Northern Ireland. Oskar P and Liam R-R stood out with impressive performances. Next up was St. Ciaran’s. The boys ran out comprehensive winners 22-8, with captain Liam R-R leading the way with 16 points! Daryl McK was colossal in defence, securing multiple defensive rebounds. Malek gave an inspired performance that would be similar to the Duracell bunny, he was everywhere on defence. The boys then faced St. John The Baptist in what would turn out to be a preview of the final. St. John’s won 14-10 scoring two baskets in the last minute of the game, St. John’s were excellent throughout the game and benefitted from their significant size advantage.
It’s always a must win game when any Laurelhill team take on a local rival but the Year 8 boys needed no reminders. They raced into an 8-0 lead with Archie R and Logan R finding their scoring touch. Forthill battled back to bring it a 4 point game but captain Liam stepped up to the mark and dug deep to hit three unanswered layups. Huge credit should go to Kai I whose athleticism was dominant throughout the game. Final score Laurelhill 18 – 12 Forthill.
With 4 wins and 1 defeat the boys progressed to the final where they met St. John The Baptists for the second time. It’s not the size of the man but the size of his heart that matters, that was certainly the case for the boys in the final. The 1st quarter was an even contest with both sides trading scores through Liam R-R and Archie. Kai was superb at both ends of the floor, with Eddie M providing some excellent assists for Liam. With the sides level going into the final quarter, Laurelhill found another gear to move into. An excellent defensive stop and dish from Daryl allowed Liam to dribble past two players and drive into the key. With St. John’s protecting the basket, Liam cleverly stopped and found Oskar P who knocked down a huge jump-shot to put Laurelhill in front. In the last minute of the game, Kai I leaped above his man to secure an important defensive rebound, in a carbon copy of the play a minute ago, Liam drove into the key and dished the ball back to Oskar who was wide open to drop another long jump-shot. It put Laurelhill up by four which was too much for St. John’s to claw back. Final score Laurelhill 10 – 6 St. John The Baptist.
Year 8 Boys:
Play of the Tournament: Liam R-R
Most Improved Player: Oskar P
Year 8 Girls
Player of the tournament: Abbi A-B
Most Improved Player: Rutendo B
Mr Smyth and Chloe
