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The weekend had some fantastic close matches and some great upsets which is really what the cup competition is about, it gives the chance for a team playing in a lower division a chance to see can they compete or even beat teams in the league above and this did happen numerous times.
Firstly the plate champions who are a new club into the leagues managed to beat 4 division 1 teams en route to lifting the Plate Trophy, this leads to big ambitions for the club to win Division 2 and get promoted into the Division 1 league, the club also is hoping to expand into a junior club! In the semi-final they battled against Tyrone Towers who are consistently producing teams in play-off competitions and are extremely experienced, Towers had a chance to put the game into over-time with the last shot of game but unfortunately it was not to be.
Semi Final : Tyrone ''Towers'' - ''Bc Wolves''
Q1 : Towers -13 Wolves - 19. Towers start strong against the D2 Wolves by attacking the basket and getting the opposition into foul trouble at the start, but after few minutes ''Bc Wolves'' managed to get in to the game and get some clean baskets !
Q2: Tied before the half time - 34:34 . Wolves show why they are competing for the D2 title as they have balanced play with some great guard play with strong forwards and skillful post moves. But the result shows that the game will be intense !
Q3: Wolves 56 Towers 47. A fantastic qtr of hussle with all tied with 90 seconds to go but Wolves create some turnovers and play a 2 man game with player coach Rolandas at the centre of the action ! A high concentration on defense led us go forward by 9 points before the last 10 minutes !!
Q4: Last qtr Nip and tuck as Tyrone press, but Robertas Gurskas manages to keep ''Wolves'' in the lead with fantastic guard control and outside shooting. With 3 seconds to go, and 3 points behind, ''Towers'' execute a superb inbounds play for their MVP and captain Mark Gallagher but Tomas Burbulis challenges well. Wolves win 67 64. MVP Robertas Gurskas!! ''Bc Wolves'' are going to there first final !!!
After the Hard Semi final, our men decided to have a minute of relaxation and went to local bar ''Vilnius'' to get some new ideas how to win final match !!
The finals arrived to Derry ''Foyle Arena'' just like the fans of ''Bc Wolves''. Before the match, we felt like we are playing in our home court at cookstown, and all the thanks to the best fans in Northern Ireland !!!
Plate Final ''Tigers'' Vs ''Wolves''. Q1: Tigers 20-18 Wolves,Tigers begin strong with Declan Kelly putting back some offensive rebounds, but Wolves finish strong as the player/coach enters the game. His size and footwork create match-up problems which leads to Tigers getting into foul trouble and Wolves finish with over 12 shots at the free-throw line.
Q2: Tigers 25 - Wolves 35. Wolves' inside advantage opens the 3-point line for yesterday's MVP Robertas Gurskas as he hit 3 three pointers to give Wolves a lead. Tigers battle hard through the quarter with D Murray leading the charge but the shots just didn't drop this quarter.
Q3: Tigers 48 - Wolves 46: Tigers continued attacking style is rewarded as the baskets start dropping and they get numerous Wolves into foul trouble. Tigers closed to gap several times and could of gain the lead their selves if not for missed free-throws but in the last 10 seconds R Best leds the Tigers into a two point margin. Wolves maintained the lead for most of the quarter due to some stellar defence from T Burbulis who then started the fast-break with bullet outlet passes but has a huge turnover on the spin dribble to give the Tigers the ball with 10 seconds left.
Final quarter of the plate final was a great battle as the player coach Rolandas Bartkus re entered the game after sitting for 8 minutes and became the centre piece of the offence. Tigers countered with numerous options as you just didn't know who was taking the shot for the team, this quarter Donal Brady stepped up with some lovely mid range pull up jumpers. With the lead changing 6 times in the 37th minute of the match the Tigers just seemed to tire and gave away numerous fouls and their own shots just fell a bit short. Wolves took advantage and went on a 10-0 run. Final score Tigers 65 - Wolves 74. MVP Robertas Gurskas for Wolves who was the height of consistency throughout the game when the team needed it. Thanks for all the fans, and we hope to see you soon on the league games !!!
MVP - Robertas Gurskas !!!!!!