A total of 42 of the best basketball players in Donegal have signed up to play in the 2nd Letterkenny Summerleague.
After the success of the league last year, Mark Cannon decided that he would once again run the league this year, and believes it will become an annual event not to be missed if you are a basketball fan.
After players have registered to play Summerleague, they are then assigned to a team, where they will play games over a period of six weeks to see who will be crowned Summerleague champions.
There are six teams in total, seven players on each team and they play each other twice in the league over the first five weeks. The playoffs will commence in the final week between the top four teams, while the bottom two teams will square off in a wooden spoon game. Each team plays a game every Tuesday and Thursday in Aura.
This year Mark Cannon (organiser) decided that he would get new reversible jerseys for the league and these were kindly sponsored by Edwin Foley & Co Chartered Accountants, who has backed the Summerleague for its second straight year.
Week one got off to a great start. The early favourite Lakers were matched up against the Celtics and this one would go down to the wire. For the first time these players played together as a team, both teams got off to a great start with scores from Eduardas Diktonas (Lakers) and last years top scorer Paul McHugh (Celtics). There were multiple lead changes in the game, with Ejder Akkoc (Celtics) and Kieran O’Neill (Lakers) working hard for their respective teams. O’Neill scored a three with only a few seconds left for the Lakers to seal their first win of the Summerleague 46-44. Top Scorers: (Celtics) Paul McHugh and (Lakers) Kieran O’Neill.
The second game of the opening night saw Magic take on a weakened Thunder squad. Magic took advantage of this early on with Zak Balogun and Edvinas Dapsys scoring with strong inside moves. The Thunder would not give up and continued to play hard through the reigning MVP Billy Banda and Mike Foy. However, the Magic players were much fitter and ran out winners 56-40. Top Scorers: (Magic) Mark Cannon 19pts and (Thunder) Billy Banda 12pts.
The Bulls and Clippers played off in the last game of the night. Both sides were evenly matched in the first half and went score for score with nobody able to take a commanding lead. Paul Murray (Clippers) did a great job attacking the basket early on, while Troy Morris notched a few scores to keep his Bulls team within touch. The second half saw the Clippers run out comfortable winners, with Shaun Wogan leading the fast break, on a scoreline of 54-40. Top Scorers: (Bulls) Pauric Carr 18pts and (Clippers) Shaun Wogan/Steve Cannon 15pts.
On the Thursday of Week 1, the teams were back in action once again. This time, the Thunder took on the Celtics. The Thunder were once again missing key players and this hurt them down the stretch, however, they will return to full strength next week. Renatas Jocys (Celtics) finished strong inside during this game, while Fermin Maniti and Connor Reid (Thunder) tried hard to keep the game close. Pete Rose (Celtics) took control in the second half and rallied his team to their first Summerleague win 53-32. Top Scorers: (Celtics) Ejder Akkoc 16pts and (Thunder) Connor Reid 14pts.
The second game of the night saw the Clippers and Lakers face off, with both teams having won their respective opening night games. Clippers raced into an early 17-7 lead with Steve Cannon scoring three three-pointers. However, the Lakers never gave up and continually clawed their way back into the game. The old vet Brian Gribben reeled back the years in this game and top scored for his Lakers team through tough post play. The second half remained close, and Lakers led by 2 points with two minutes to go. However, they were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, while Steve Cannon and Rory O’Brien finished out the game strong to make it two wins from two for the Clippers 43-39. Top Scorers: (Clippers) Steve Cannon 20pts and (Lakers) Brian Gribben 15pts.
The final fixture of the opening week was between Bulls and Magic. Magic took command early in this game through great shooting from Erik Dragunas and they opened up a double-digit lead. But the Bulls were only getting warmed up and came chasing back with a great run put together by Pauric Carr and Mindaugas Bartasius. They brought the game level with four minutes to go and took a two-point lead with two minutes to go. Mark Cannon had the hot shooting hand all game and his Magic teammates continued to get him the ball in good positions for easy scores. Magic regained the lead and held on to win 55-49. Top Scorers: (Bulls) Pauric Carr 19pts and (Magic) Mark Cannon 32pts.
These teams will take the court every Tuesday and Thursday in Aura between 8-10pm, so if anybody is interested in coming down to watch the games, then they are very welcome free of charge. There are three games each Tuesday and the same on Thursday so there is plenty of action on display. All our information (stats, fixtures, results and more) can be viewed online at
http://www.edwinfoley.ie/Letterkenny-Summer-League-2012
Summerleague Table 2012 (After Week 1)
Team Played Won Lost For Against Diff Points
Magic 2 2 0 111 89 22 6
Clippers 2 2 0 97 79 18 6
Celtics 2 1 1 97 78 19 4
Lakers 2 1 1 85 87 -2 4
Bulls 2 0 2 89 109 -20 2
Thunder 2 0 2 72 109 -37 2
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