Maree wins U12 Galway League - finish the year unbeaten.

Maree's U12s faced Moycullen in the Galway County Final on Mar 27th. This was the first time some of these young lads played in the Annual Basketball Finals Day in NUIG.
Early nerves were understandable, but Eoin Rockall and Diarmuid Byrne got them off to a great start, combining well in offense to open up a 10 - 2 lead. Oisin Doyle was always a threat on the fast break. Adam Hanniffy, Ruairi Corry and MoBei Du kept up the pressure defense, denying Moycullen easy scores.
The second quarter players, Jim Crowley, Rian Maher, Ciaran Blaney, Adam Cox, James Reynolds and Conor McDermott, continued the tough defense, smothering every Moycullen attack. In offense, Maher dominated, scoring three baskets. Reynolds grabbed another to leave Maree ahead 18 - 2 at half time.
Maree never allowed Moycullen easy baskets in the second half and with further scores from Adam Cox, Adam Hanniffy, Declan McCormac, Maher, Byrne and Rockall, they ran out comfortable winners 36 - 9.
Co-captains Ciaran Blaney and RIan Maher lifted the cup to loud cheers.


Ciaran Blaney(c), Diarmuid Byrne(8), Ruairi Corry, Adam Cox(2), Jim Crowley, Oisin Doyle, MoBei Du, Eoin Gill, Adam Hanniffy(2), Rian Maher(c)(12), Declan McCormac(2), Conor McDermot, James Reynolds(2), Eoin Rockall(8).
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Maree progress to U12 County Final.

Maree hosted the U12 Playoff Blitz on Sun. 28th Feb. Seven teams were involved: Bearna, Clare Cascaders, Corrib and Maree in pool A, with Claregalway, Titans and Moycullen in pool B.
Many great contests took place throughout the day.
Maree opened with a great team effort against Bearna, with everyone, including Ruairi Corry, MoBei Du and Conor McDermott contributing to the 29-10 win.
Maree overcame Clare Cascaders next, with Oisin Doyle hitting a season's high of 11 points. James Reynolds, Diarmuid Byrne and Eoin Rockall added 6 points each, with Declan McCormac getting 4pts.
Against Corrib, Rian Maher and Diarmuid top scored with 8 each, while Adam Hanniffy, Oisin and Eoin added 4 points each.
So, Maree topped pool A, setting up a semifinal against Titans. Maree led 19-4 at half time, with Ciaran Blaney hitting 8 points in the second quarter. Adam Cox scored twice in the third while Jim Crowley dished out some fine assists but overall it was a team effort that saw Maree win 35-24.
Moycullen overcame Barna 24-13 in the other semifinal.
Hence, Maree and Moycullen will contest the 'A' Final on March 27th, while Bearna and Titans will contest the 'B' Final.
Thank you to all who helped run the event on the day, particularily to the referees and to Saoirse and Rachel who did the table.
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Maree's team effort leads to win against Corrib.

Maree's tall players posed many problems for Corrib's young team on Sunday, Rian Maher finished with 10 points, as did Adam Cox, a season's high for him.
Oisin Doyle (4 pts), Ruairi Corry(4 pts) and Declan McCormac (2 pts) were a constant threat on the break, scoring layups but many more rimmed out.
Ciaran Blaney (9 pts) and Eoin Rockall (13 pts) drove to the basket well and together with Adam Hanniffy dished out many assists.
James Reynolds (2pts) and Conor McDermott (4pts) found the open spaces under the basket and converted the chances.

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Maree's U12s win Cork Co. Board Tournament.

On Dec 19th Maree braved the sub zero temperatures and icy roads and headed to Cork for the county board tournament.

They got past Carrigaline in the first match. Next up in the group was Ballincollig. The boys were never under pressure in this match, Rian Maher and Diarmuid Byrne top scored with 12 and 10 points resp, however seven other players chipped in points as well to finish ahead 41 - 16.

Their last pool game was against Fr Mathews, the in-form team in Cork at this age group. This Maree team had previously lost to Fr Mathews in the semi final of the U9 Cork Tournament and in a pool game in the U11 Tournament.
This year they were determined to get off to a good start - Diarmuid got the first 3 baskets, Eoin Rockall swished a shot before Oisin Doyle sank 2 free throws to give Maree a 10 - 1 lead. Diarmuid and Adam Cox were rebounding well, all were playing great defense, leading to scores in transition. MoBei Du finished a fast break to leave Maree up 16 - 5 at the end of the quarter.
Fr Mathews came out strong in the second quarter and cut the lead to 6, before scores from Rian, Ciaran Blaney, Jim Crowley and James Reynolds re-established the 11 point lead: 23 - 12. All were playing tough man-to-man defense, including Ruairi Corry and Conor McDermott. Jim was very comfortable as point guard, while Ciaran, Rian and James controlled the boards. Mathews hit 2 free throws, late on, to leave the half time score 23 - 14.
Fr Mathews were in foul trouble in the second half and were forced to sit key players. This allowed Maree to extend their lead, Adam picked up the final basket to win 37 - 24. Maree were delighted but knew that this was just a group game victory.

This set up an all-Galway semi final against Moycullen. Diarmuid and Eoin scored in the first quarter to open up a slender lead 7 - 4. Moycullen cut the lead to 1 early in the second before drives from Ciaran and Rian gave Maree a 7 point lead: 13 - 6. Moycullen hit back straight away and scored three shots to leave Maree ahead by the smallest of margins at half time: 13 - 12.
Maree upped the tempo in the third quarter and outscored Moycullen 14 - 2. Ruairi and Adam grabbed baskets in the fourth to leave the final score 37 - 22.
The other semi final was an all-Cork affair between Fr Mathews and Blue Demons. Again, this match was very close in the first half but Mathews pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 43 - 30.

So, the scene changed - the final would be played full court and promised to be a very close and exciting contest. It lived up to the expections!
Fr Mathews switched their 5s for the first two quarters and opened the scoring with a layup. Eoin scored twice to give Maree the lead. Diarmuid was very closely marked but Adam got free under the basket and scored the open layup. Maree led 9 - 4 at the end of q1, the other points all coming from free throws.
Rian dominated the boards in every match and opened the scoring in q2 from a rebound. Fr Mathews hit back and got the next 3 baskets to leave only 1 between the teams: 11 - 10. Time-out. Maree regrouped and opened up a 7 point lead with scores from Ciaran, Jim and Rian. Maree led 17 - 10 at half time.
With neither team in foul trouble this time round, Fr Mathews played their best basketball in the third quarter. Maree's defense was caught badly for the first time in the tournament. Mathews hit 8 points without reply and took the lead 17 - 18. Maree refused to lie down though and Eoin scored two drives to put Maree ahead 21 - 20 at the end of q3.
While Mathews had the best of the third quarter, Maree started stronger in the fourth. Their defense was solid and scores from Ciaran, Jim and Rian opened up a 6 point lead: 29 - 23 before Mathews called a timeout. There was two minutes left and it was still anyones game. Maree expected the press and were untroubled when it came with the ball in Eoin's hands. Ciaran was brilliant in the last quarter and together with Jim, they scored 6 points without reply. Mathews scored a free throw to leave the final score 35 - 24, the 11 point margin doesn't tell how close the game was up to the last few minutes.
There was great excitment among the Maree players and supporters, tired limbs (and coughs!) were forgotton when Diarmuid lifted the cup - beaming smiles all round.

A special word of thanks to the parents who helped drive the boys to & from Cork, to all who came to support, to Mike Rockall for his coaching and encouragement and to the Cork Co. Board for organising the tournament.


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Maree's Defense leads to win against Barna 54 - 15.

On Sunday 13th Dec. Maree hosted Barna in U12 league. Barna had opened their league campaign with two wins, scoring 41 and 29 points. So, defense was going to be key.
Adam Cox, Conor, Diarmuid, Eoin, Oisin and Ruairi got time in the first quarter, they worked extremely hard in defense, denying the easy scores. Oisin and Ruairi hustled well and got many steals which lead to scores. Adam and Diarmuid dominated the boards, scoring 4 points each. Maree led 14 - 3 at the end of the quarter.
Adam Hanniffy, Ciaran, Declan, Jim, MoBei and Rian played the second quarter. Jim opened the scoring from a steal. Rian and Ciaran led the way offensively, scoring 7 and 6 points resp. However, the defense was a total team effort, restricting Barna to 2 points and they led comfortably 31 - 5 at half time.
In the second half, Maree's passing improved and they ran the fast break very well. Eoin was pin point accurate with passes to Conor, Declan and MoBei on the break. Adam Hanniffy shot the ball well and was rewarded with a score.Overall, a strong team performance led to the final score of 54 - 15.

Ciaran Blaney(12), Diarmuid Byrne(4), Ruairi Corry, Adam Cox(4), Jim Crowley(4), Oisin Doyle, MoBei Du(2), Adam Hanniffy(2), Rian Maher(12), Declan McCormac(2), Conor McDermott(2), Eoin Rockall(10).
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Maree played TItans in opening U12 League fixture and won 52-18

After a close first quarter, Maree took control in the second quarter, scoring 22 points.The pace was fast and there were many great scores.

Ciaran Blaney(10), Diarmuid Byrne(6), Ruairi Corry, Adam Cox, Jim Crowley(8), Oisin Doyle(4), MoBei Du(2), Adam Hanniffy(6), Thomas Jacob, Rian Maher(4), Declan McCormac, Conor McDermott, James Reynolds, Eoin Rockall(12).