Tomorrow, St Malachy’s College Belfast once again looks to assert itself as one of the most successful high school basketball programmes in Ireland as the U19 team compete in the All-Ireland cup in the National Basketball Arena, Dublin. The Belfast school will face a tough Presentation Bray (Pres Bray) school, Co. Wicklow, who have already proved their offensive talent, racking up 100 points in the semi-finals of the cup.

St Malachy’s will look to exploit their size advantage in and around the basket with Liam Pettigrew (6’6) and Pete Kelly (6’3) at the forward and centre positions. The backcourt consists of the reputable Conor & Aidan Quinn; twin brothers who are currently on the Ireland panel. Tom Dougherty, the younger brother of Michael ‘Doc’ Dougherty (Belfast Star Superleague), will also play his role at the point guard spot, as will lefty veteran Own Duffy. Coach Fulton is proud of his team’s accomplishments to-date and recognises that  James Smyth, captain, for having displayed tremendous leadership in helping get his team to the final.

The team boasts a healthy mix of experienced and hungry players; many of the younger members of the team won last year’s U16 cup while several senior players, in their final year of school, have been in 3 finals and are yet to take home the trophy. This year, Adrian Fulton believes all his players have a role to play and recognises that competition for playing time is fierce given the quality and depth of the roster. I asked Coach Fulton about how the team are feeling about the game and what he thought of their opponent, Pres Bray:

 

Team Profile – St Malachy’s U19A Boys

 

Name:   James Smyth

Position:   Forward

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:  Liam Pettigrew

Position:   Centre

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Aidan Quinn

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Conor Quinn

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Pete Kelly

Position:   Forward

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Michael Gorman

Position:   Forward

Club:   Lisburn ’94

Age:   17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Joseph O’Boyle

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Dominic Lyttle

Position:   Forward

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Callum MacHugh

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Aaron Goldring

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Tom Dougherty

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:   Sean Joe Rooney

Position:   Guard

Club:   Belfast Star

Age:   16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Courtside Collective would like to wish Coach Fulton and the entire St Malachy’s U19 team the very best for the cup final tomorrow in Dublin’s National Basketball Arena.

---