U13 Girls

It was a busy month of November for the girls with a game scheduled every weekend.  Their first game was home to an established Meteors team who proved too strong during the game to breakdown but the girls continued to fight throughout the match until the bitter end.

Away to Templeogue was their next fixture in what proved to be a very exciting game.  Both teams, whom were evenly matched had the supporters off their seats with the up and down scoreline.  With less than a minute left and in foul trouble the Oblate girls tried their very best to maintain the 3pt lead.  Following a missed shot by Oblate, Templeogue were fouled and put to the free throw line on 2 separate occasions.  They were able to convert 3 free throws and in the dying seconds of the game scored off a rebound to win by 2pts.

Away to Liffey Celtics the following week was always going to be a tough game and was made even tougher when they travelled out with just 7 players (3 of them being U12’s).  However, I can assure you that the Oblate fighting spirit is still alive…. the girls worked so hard and really dug deep for energy that was slowly diminishing every time a fresh Liffey Celtic player was put on the court.  Although the girls lost I was extremely happy with their effort and in keeping the deficit to a minimum considering the lack of players.

The final game of the month was against Killester, again both teams were evenly match and the lead jumped many times from one team to the other.  The Oblate girls were looking for a boost following their last few defeats and managed to maintain a small lead in the fourth quarter which they were able to hold onto.  Our inbound play worked on a couple of occasions, which was a great thing to watch.  Well done girls on our first win of the season, SWEET.

 

U16 Girls

With 2 wins from 2 under their belt, our U16 girls had 4 scheduled matches for November. Our first game of the month against Swords was unfortunately cancelled, so we had a gap that meant we had more training! Our second match took us to St. Brigid’s to play Tridents, where the girls struggled in the first half to get their stride, however, they brought it back around in the second half to take the win by 13 points (31-18). Our top scorer was Rose with 13 points. Our second home game of the season took place on the 18th November against Meteors. The girls got off to a strong start with a score of 13-1 at the end of the first quarter as a result of some smart defense. The girls went from strength to strength winning by a 42 point margin. It was a good team performance all round with our top scorers being shared between 3 players: Natasha, Rose and Amira. Our next match was a home game too on the 24th November against Killester. We had an extremely bad start here, taking our first timeout in the second minute! The girls just couldn’t seem to get started and only managed 6 points in the first quarter. The girls came out with a completely different attitude in the second quarter, some great defence and teamwork helped the contribution of all players to score in this quarter. By the time the fourth quarter had come around the girls had definitely found their rhythm, scoring a huge 23 points in this quarter. Top scorers again were Rose and Natasha who netted 34 points between them. The girls deserved the 61-36 win. The girls are really working hard and their determination is paying off. Well done to each and every one of them and for making it all so enjoyable! We look forward to December; two matches scheduled but most importantly our Christmas party!!!!!!!!

U18 Girls

U18 ladies only had 1 game in November where they had a great away win against Mercy. The girls were without the highly influential Ciara White who was away training with the Irish U18s and Aisling Gelston who had a frisbee competition (ask Eddie). It was a great team effort with all 7 players getting in on the scoring. Next up is the National Shield away to Tullamore on December 8th….

Senior 1 Ladies

Senior 1 ladies had 4 games in November. They were missing some key players as they faced current champions Killester in the Oblates and after finding themselves down by 16 after a dreadful start they clawed their way back but lost out in the end by 3.

Next up was an away fixture in the cup at Dublin Lions were the div 2 team from Clondalkin fought hard all the way but Dynamos were too strong and came away with a comfortable victory.

2 league wins have propelled the girls to the top of the league as November comes to a close, away to Firhouse and at home to U.C.D.

December will have 2 tough games awaiting as Dynamos will look to stay top but Liffey Celtics away and Templeogue at home will really see how far the team have come this season…

Senior 3 Ladies

02/11/18 Senior 3 v Rathmines in the Oblates:

After a slow start to the game we found ourselves down by 8 after 6 minutes, difficult game to  coach as I had to start the game on table as nobody available in the gym to help so I need to say a big thanks to Jen Taaffe who assisted me on the night and when substituted covered the table to free me up to coach. We very quickly came to grips with the game and turned the score line around and secured ourselves the win against a very physical team. The team is only starting to settle but with a big second half performance the girls can take great credit going forward.

16/11/18 Senior 3 v Glasnevin in the Oblates:

What can I say, this is the one game I dread every season and indeed it looked like very early on it was going to be the nightmare I expected but these ladies put in the defensive display of their lives., every rebound, every 50/50 ball, calm when we needed to be and clever when the clock was on our side, it was one of my highlights last season when we beat them by a point at home and I think this performance again will be one of those highlights.  The team is really beginning to settle as quite a number of changes this season and we eventually ran out 15 point winners on the night. Still dread the rematch though

22/11/18 Senior 3 v Meteors in Colaiste Iosaigin:

Not having faced Meteors for a number of years it was a game where we did not know what to expect. The game was always tight but we did hold a 9 point lead at one stage, but a couple of quick 3’s from Meteors saw the game go into overtime. Composure was the key in overtime and credit to the girls we took the win by 3. Special mention to Sarah Byrne as what was quite possibly the best rebounding performance I have ever seen from her, both ends of the court, as a team we are working hard and the scoring is actually shared right across the team but Sarah’s performance tonight even brought comment from the referees.

30/11/18 Senior 3 v Firhouse in the Oblates:

Knowing we were missing 3 members of the team we needed to play 3 Under 18 girls up for this game. It was quite a physical battering on the night and unfortunately the early lead we surrendered costed us in the end, we just never managed to close the gap to more than 3, however we face them again on the 6th December away from home in the DLBB Cup,

Finally many thanks to our supporters that have travelled and to Claire for her assistance at training and on the side-line and although a number of people have helped us on table there is one constant in Joanne Kiernan, so a special word of thanks to Joanne for her help on table this month.

Senior 5 Ladies

09/02/18 Senior 5 v Rathdrum away – Cup Game:

Coming from a 2 point win against Northside Nets we were confident heading to our game, that was until we saw the size of them, but the girls in fairness didn’t get too phased for too long, we didn’t get the win but this new team showed true determination in the 4th quarter to put in a super defensive performance to place themselves in a position to win the game, unfortunately although we had the 2 point lead going into the last 2 minutes their size killed us and we lost by 3 on the night but a great all round team performance

13/11/18 Senior 5 v ABFRC in the Oblates:

Not much rest for the girls as they found themselves with a home game on Tuesday the 13th., The girls got off to a flying start and maintained the tempo for the entire game running out as very comfortable winners, very pleased for the girls as they were disappointed to lose their Cup game but showed great spirit tonight

19/11/18 Senior 5 v UCD in UCD:

Very slow to get to grips with the game and allowed UCD a double figure lead. The heads never dropped though and the girls regrouped and pulled themselves back into the game with a zone press, something which we have not covered in training but the team adapted brilliantly to the change and we came to within 3, unfortunately just not enough time left in the game but again as a new team we are learning all the time and can take a lot from this game and learn from our mistakes.

U11 Boys

U11 boys had 3 games this month. They are working hard in training and showing their progress in the games. In some of our games we are coming up against stronger opposition but the boys never give up and are listening and trying to work on what they are being asked. With other teams only having 10 players that are all the same age there will always be a difference in standards. However we are progressing each game and the coaches can really see a difference. It is important players attend all sessions and camps to work on developing their skills. This is definitely a team to watch for the future. Playing games at a young age will stand to them.

U12 Boys

U12 boys had 3 league games and one cup game in November and have really improved performances in all their games. They beat Templeogue in the cup game. They came from 13 down in the last quarter to bring the game to extra time and eventually win by 5. This was a determined performance , they now have to show a similar for their remaining games. The boys can’t wait till wackie returns from injury to really give balance to the team.

U14 Boys

The U14 boys played 3 games in the past month and they’ve won 3 from 3. Aisling and Eddie are delighted with the improvement out of every single player on the squad. We got off to a rough start this season with us only getting to know the lads and them the same with us but we really are starting to see major improvement out of us all as a team. Defence has really been the key factor for us in all three of the past games and it’s something Eddie and Aisling are trying to really focus in on, the lads are really stepping up and taking in everything during training and evidently are bringing it onto the court. Very proud of the team as a whole,here’s to the rest of the season!

U16 Boys

This team is going through a transition period at the moment , as we have quite a number of boys playing club ball for the first time. There are quite a number still eligible to play for this league again next season. A number of the teams we have played are quite experienced even for a division 2 league. We did have a close encounter with Kilcock losing by a point In overtime.We can only but encourage the boys as they future develop there basketball skills.

Division 2 Men

November was a mixed month for the Division 2 team – the biggest game of the month came against Drogheda in the NICC. In what was a very good competitive games the lads fell behind in the final few minutes and lost. In the league we went away to St Vincents and won convincingly. With 1 game to play before Christmas the team is in 4th place and well set to push on and challenge for the league in the new year.