Wins on the double for Portlaoise Panthers under 14's

Portlaoise Panthers boys U-14 Black team continued their undefeated start to the season with two comprehensive wins over the weekend.

Portlaoise Panthers Black 41

Carlow 14

Saturday saw the boys travelled to Carlow Basketball Club for a Kilkenny league game. From the first tip the Panthers controlled the tempo of the game. Oran Masterson opened his account on the day with a lovely finish on a fastbreak.

Jayden Umeh controlled the pace of the game in the first quarter distributing and scoring freely. The Panthers main weapon was their tenacious defence only giving up one basket in the open quarter. David Kehoe and Scott Davies fought for every loose ball and rebound. Mark Delaney was excellent on both ends of the floor and was rewarded with a couple of points from the free throw line.

The boys held a fourteen point lead after the opening quarter and never looked back. The second quarter was much of the same for the Panthers as they continued to dominate the game. Callum Kernan was having great success inside scoring nine points in the quarter. Jim Hanamy and Ben Quigley ran the show with some excellent passes, this allowed Kernan and Tadgh Dalton to get a couple of easy baskets.

Marat Tuhtarov was working hard on defence and unlucky not to benefit from all his wonderful movement on offence. The Panthers went into halftime with a comfortable lead. The second half was a much tamer affair for both sides, but the lead that had been gained in the first half never looked in threat.

Callum Dolan and Tuhtarov were fantastic when they were in the game. They displayed some excellent shooting and composure on the fast break. The win was down to a well rounded team performance, with all players having a key role in the victory.

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Portlaoise Panthers Black 81

North Kildare 30

Following the trip to Carlow, the boys were back in Midlands League action on Sunday as they travelled to Maynooth to play North Kildare. The team continued where they left off from the day before, with some excellent defence and fastbreaking.

Marat Tuhtarov opened the scoring for the game after grabbing an offensive rebound. The flood-gates opened for the Panthers and they dominated the opening quarter. Desmond Ogedegbe was outstanding in the game, scoring, rebounding and passing. The home team had no response for him.

Ben Quigley made some incredible passes right throughout the game and many of his teammates benefited from his distribution of the ball. Scott Davies being one of these beneficiaries scored six points in the opening quarter. Jayden Umeh was amazing on Sunday, in the first quarter he facilitated Ogedegbe for a couple of baskets and scored seven points himself.

The Panthers led by 22 points after the first quarter. There was a bit of a lul in the second quarter for the Panthers as they struggled to find the finish. Jim Hanamy made some lovely moves towards the basket but was unlucky that the ball didn't drop. He opened his account in the second quarter with a free throw. Callum Kernan and Oran Masterson kept the scoreboard ticking over for the visiting side.

Mark Delaney and Callum Dolan were excellent on defence to finish the opening half.

The Panthers dominated the second half and pushed their lead out. Tadgh Dalton came in during the third quarter and finished off some fastbreak with composed finishes. Umeh and Ogedegbe came back into the game and were outstanding.

The two combined for 45 points in the game. The third quarter put huge daylight between the two teams as the Panthers ended the quarter with 47 point lead. Masterson, Dolan and Hanamy came back into the game and added to the teams points with some good baskets. Kernan and Umeh combined for the final couple of baskets for the visiting team. An excellent team performance has kept the boys on top of the table in the Midlands League.

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