Limerick Celtics target double National Cup glory

LIMERICK Celtics will target two National Cup finals this weekend as the senior and U20 men battle it out in their respective finals in the National Basketball Arena. 

First up are Tony Hehir's men who will compete against Portlaoise Panthers in the President's National Cup Final at 3:30pm on Saturday afternoon. 

Celtics overcame a sluggish start in their semi-final to advance and maintain their unbeaten tag in the 2024/25 season with a 85-78 win against a fired up Moy Tolka Rovers. Huge performances from Ariyon Jamal Williams and Finn Hughes secured the victory with the 24 and 31 points respectively. 

This has been a stand out season for the Celtic men, who look like they will be hard to beat this weekend as well. Saturday's game is the first time the teams will face each other this year with Portlaoise winning 67-55 against Titans BC in their cup semi-final. 

The second Limerick Celtics team in action this weekend are the U20 men, who will be battling to keep their title after winning the cup last year as well. Celtics U20 men reached their second consecutive U20 final and are on course for retaining their crown this year after getting the better of Killester 58-52.

Captain Cian Gleeson made sure his team would get to another final as he slotted 22 points for his team in the semi-final. It has been a confident run for the U20 men from Limerick who have comfortably beaten Maree, Templeogue and Eanna to reach this stage of the competition. 

Despite having an easy enough run to the final Celtics will be put under pressure by their final opponents in Dundalk Ravens, who got the better of Titans BC by only five points in the opposite semi-final. 

Dundalk have some serious players with Eoin Potito and Declan Gbinigie scoring 20 and 18 points each during the semi. The contest between Celtics and Ravens will get underway on Sunday afternoon at 1:15pm.