The Hula Hoops President’s Cup will return to Donegal this Saturday in An Dánlann, LYIT, when Fr. Mathews Cork travel up to play LYIT in Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious competition.
LYIT ask fans to note the slightly later tip off time of 5pm and are running a special promotion for the game as all young basketball fans under 16 years old get in for free.
It is a welcome break from league action for Head Coach Niall McDermott and the LYIT squad who have faced a number of agonising defeats in the early stage of the season.
He remarks “in three of our losses we have held the lead in the fourth quarter and let the game slip away, we know we have the talent to win the games but we need better composure in the final few minutes, we are a very inexperienced team so hopefully that will come with time.
On Saturday past we went into the final quarter up 8 points away versus the undefeated league leaders the Ulster Elks and you can see the improvements made from the first game of the season. But in the cup everyone starts with a 0-0 record, it’s a fresh competition so we can put the league losses behind us and are excited to try and put a run together.”
Fr. Mathews play in the Southern Conference of the National League and although they have also faced a difficult start to the season McDermott is not under estimating the Cork men.
“Cork has a rich tradition of basketball and is seen by many as the basketball capital of the country, Fr. Mathews just had a great win over IT Carlow and will be travelling full of confidence so it’s important we get a good start to the game.”
Admission is €5 for adults with all under 16s getting in for free on a one off promotion.
Doors open from 4.30pm with a tip off time of 5pm. It is expected to be an exciting and high scoring game and the advice is to get there early if you want a good seat! Refreshments will also be available during and after the game.
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