Limerick Celtics U20 men's team power through to national cup final

LIMERICK Celtics U20 men's team are through to the National Cup final after a comprehensive 78-53 victory against St Brendan's of Tralee at the MTU Arena this Sunday. 

The ever impressive Martin Frawley was Limerick Celtic's top scorer on the day scoring 29 points. 

Both sides got off to a tentative start missing easy lay-ups and shots before Evan Boyle of St Brendan's got his team on the board with a three pointer. 

This was quickly followed by a Limerick Celtics response from Martin Frawley and Philip Kearney to give them the lead. 

St Brendan's battled back though through Olaf Michalczuk's back-to-back three point shots, but it fast-break scores that kept Limerick Celtics in the lead after the first quarter going 25-14 ahead. 

Brendan's of Tralee had a more confident second quarter with better defence to keep Celtics from getting their usual inside looks, aided by captain Eddie Sheehy's vital baskets. 

Limerick Celtics though maintained their dominance throughout with scores from Matthew Barry and Martin Frawley to keep them well ahead at the half-time break on a scoreline of 41-30. 

Despite Olaf Michalczuk's scoring three baskets for St Brendan's at the start of the second-half it wasn't enough to stop Limerick Celtic's blazing offence.

With nearly every player on the court scoring for the Limerick side during the third quarter they opened up their largest lead of 20 points and kept their advantage at 65-44 at the end of the quarter. 

Team fouls became a problem for Limerick Celtics in the final quarter, sending Brendan's to line on multiple occasions but the Tralee team were unable to bridge the gap.

Celtics continued to be the stronger team throughout and battled to win out on a scoreline of 78-53. 

Top scorers for Limerick Celtics: Martin Frawley (29 points), Matthew Barry (14 points), Dennis Matthews (11 points).

Top scorers for St Brendan's: Olaf Michalczuk (19 points), Eddie Sheehy (13 points), Donal O'Sullivan (7 points).

LIMERICK CELTICS: Denis Matthews, Con Kirby, Cian Gleeson, Matthew Barry, Daniel O'Leary, Sean McNamara, Philip Kearney, Martin Frawley, Colm McCarthy, James Corcoran.

ST BRENDAN'S: Eddie Sheehy, Donal O'Sullivan, Evan Boyle, Coren Hughes, Joseph Sullivan, Pheonix Costello, Garry Lynchm Andrew Wallace, Aaron Nolan, Eoin Creedon, Eli Fizgerald, Olaf Michalczuk.