Over the weekend three teams representing NI travelled to London to partake in the UK’s largest 3×3 competition, Ball Out. Having qualified for the Finals the weekend before, the Senior Men, Senior Women and U18 Women knew the standard was high and what was expected when they arrived at Finsbury Park.
The U18 Women, Coached by Paddy McGaharan, lost their opening pool games 6-9 to Dream Team and 5-7 to Swish Kebab but won their third and final game, 11-9 to Itchen. Although the games were tight and competitive, two losses meant the NI women did not progress to the later stages.
However, the U18 Women also played London Thunder in a highly competitive 5v5 game and came away with a 52-65 win. Coach Paddy said, “The London trip was a fantastic opportunity for our girls to gain exposure to new competition in England.
The 3×3 competition was a great experience for our girls. The atmosphere was electric as hundreds of people gathered in Finsbury Park to watch the games.
I was absolutely delighted with our performance across the day, despite narrowly losing 2 games, we produced a fine performance and a huge win against one of the best teams in the competition. It was clear to me that we were talented enough to compete with anyone but it just took a few games to adjust to the playing surface and the heat – a very different element to the 3×3 game. Our girls showed phenomenal grit to win in overtime in the final game, with Sophie Bell coming in clutch, scoring both baskets to win the game.
We then ventured to the Thunderdome on Sunday to play a club team, London Thunder. This was a 5v5 game and our girls Represented Team NI with class. The game was nip and tuck for the first two quarters and our girls managed to use their full court defensive pressure to break away in the second half and secure the win. I’d like to thank Stephanie and everyone at London Thunder for hosting this highly enjoyable game and an experience our girls won’t forget.
There were excellent individual performances across the board as all 11 girls played important minutes to contribute to the hard fought win.
We hope to build on this experience with more competitive fixtures for these talented girls in the upcoming year. Thank you to all players, parents and shout out to Marc and Dervla for their assistance and expertise on the trip.”
The Senior Women 3×3 team which is coached by Pat O’Neill and is made up of Charley McGrath, Aoife Callaghan, Ruth Gallagher and Ciara Cooke, topped their pool with a 13-7 win over Little Giants and 21-6 win against Sharks as well as a win via forfeit. Their competition came to an end at the quarter final stage when they lost to a very strong London Mystics side 9 – 21.
Ryan McCormick’s Senior Men’s 3×3 team of Paddy McGaharan, Lucien Chirstofis, Conall Goan and Callum Keys received a forfeit for this first game. The second game saw them play on of the tournaments favourites and with a competitive game, they fell short and lost 16-20. Unfortunately they exited the competition at the Last 16 game whereby they lost in another tight game 13-15 to 3nD.
Although there were no major victories at Ball Out, the weekend offered valuable lessons and positive takeaways for each team. These experiences will help Team NI continue to grow and strengthen its ecosystem in the future.
