Aoibheann Donnelly and Mark Burns of Belfast Star were both selected to play for the Ireland U16 Women and Mens team’s respectively. The teams travelled to Mersch, Luxembourg for the Dussman Trophy which saw both teams come up against Portugal, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in a round robin event.
Aoibheann captained her U16 Women’s team for the tournament as they got off to an impressive start taking on the Netherlands in a game which Ireland won 67-56. This was a notable victory against a much higher ranked nation. Aoibheann led the team in scoring 11 points in 15 minutes. In the second game Ireland came out on top again with a 53-35 win over Luxembourg, with Aoibheann scoring 9 points in 18 minutes. In their final game the Irish Women came 2nd against Portugal in a 67-45 defeat. Aoibheann contributed an impressive 17 points for Ireland in 19 minutes. Overall, the event was positive for the Irish women coming 2nd with a 2-1 record. Aoibheann’s performances saw her selected in the tournament’s All Star Team, she also led the Irish team in scoring with an impressive, 37 points in 53 minutes across the tournament.
In the opening game for Mark and the U16 Mens team took on the Netherlands in a game which saw Ireland come out 82-74 winners. Mark led the Irish scoring with 15 points in 27 minutes and an impressive +12 in the +/-. In game 2, Ireland secured another victory with an 84-53 win over Luxembourg. Mark made an impact with another 12 points in 20 minutes. In their final game the team came up short against Portugal in an 89-65 defeat. Mark scored 5 points in game 3 in 20 minutes. The team finished the event in 2nd place with a positive 2-1 record. Overall, Mark’s performance in the tournament was a positive one contributing as Ireland’s 2nd highest points scorer for the event with 32 points.
It was another great experience for our Northern Ireland contingent. Well done to Aoibheann and Mark from everyone in the BNI community.
Images from Basketball Ireland