BASKETBALL/National Cup: On New Year's Day in 1985, Neptune basketball club met St Vincent's of Dublin in the quarter-final of the National Cup. The game was the very first played in Neptune's brand new indoor arena and although it was not televised, it became one of the most famous of all cup games. The pull-out bleachers had yet to be fitted in the Neptune facility and it seemed as if half of Cork city had been packed in for this debut game.
The decision by the (then) IBBA to introduce two Americans into the league had provoked strong public interest and in the-mid 1980s, the sport was about to go through a surge in popularity. Neptune's ambitious arena was a sign of the times. They crowded into the upstairs gallery and squashed along the end line and used the frame of the basket at either end of the court for a better view. Inevitably, the game went to overtime.
"I always remember Kenny Perkins getting a tip on the buzzer to draw us level," recalls Joey Boylan of Vincent's.
"The thing was, it was about three seconds after the buzzer but nobody could hear because the crowd was so loud."
The local crowd made up for their mistake. Legend has it that when Vincent's Pat Boylan stood on the free throw line to shoot a pair of critical free throws with seconds left, the baskets were shaking because of atmosphere and the encouragement of a few Cork fans. At least that was the story that went around Dublin. St Vincent's had won the inaugural National Cup the previous winter in the Oblate Hall in Inchicore but even though they were disappointed by the dramatic loss, they realised the cup was on the verge of making a serious impact on the public consciousness.
So it proved. Later that month, Neptune won the competition, which was televised live by RTÉ. The final ended on a beautifully climactic note, with Terry Strickland stealing the ball in the last seconds to make a shot on the buzzer.
"It was a crazy time really," remembers Tom O'Sullivan, then just 19 years old and making a reputation for himself as a cool long-range shooter.
"I'll never forget that first game in Neptune and I think that really set the tone for everything that happened afterwards. It got to the stage where we had to actually lock people out of the stadium for big games, which is hard to imagine now."
Neptune were the pioneers of the brightest period in Irish basketball. Thanks to Terry Solan, they landed a lucrative sponsorship - then worth around £300,000 with the local fast food franchise, Burgerland. They also landed the choice Americans at a time when the Irish league was attracting truly serious ball players. Terry Smith. Jasper McElroy. Kelvin Troy. Deora Marsh. They became known by their Christian names. As Karl Donnelly, then a schoolboy in Vincent's and now chief executive of the IBA remarked, "nobody had really ever seen athletes like these guys in this country before. The American game had no real exposure over here so the players were just light years ahead of what we had seen in other sports."
Donnelly was one of thousands of Irish kids hooked by what he now describes as "the golden age of Irish basketball." While the league was still played out in parish halls, the cup quickly caught hold of the popular imagination and in the 1980s became synonymous with January and Cork.
"I suppose Neptune is located centrally so everyone could get to the stadium easily and socialise afterwards," remembers O'Sullivan.
"The clubs in Cork city were going well and because the whole thing was new and fresh, there was a real buzz about the place. Like, Cork is small enough really that you would notice all these teams and fans around. It was a great weekend."
The exposure given through RTÉ and the parade of marvellous Americans meant the cup went from strength to strength. Although Mario Elie went from Killester to the unlikely highs of winning two NBA rings with Hakeem Olojuwon in the early 1990s, he is not ever considered to be the best of the "Irish" Americans. The finals tended to be close and gripping and exceptionally well organised. Tom O'Sullivan won four Cups with Neptune, a slick, enviable outfit characterised by a smooth fast-break game. He won his last medal with Ballina in 1998.
"To be honest, I always wanted to play with Liam McHale - even though we were both on the Irish team, one of us always seemed to be injured. So that was sweet."
By then, the cup had been moved to the National Arena in Tallaght. It meant the competition had two distinct eras. Cork was raucous and soulful and in design was ideally suited to television, like a small version of the old Boston Garden. But by 1993, it was time to move the Cup to the headquarters of Irish basketball.
The Tallaght Arena was brighter and bigger and a gorgeous venue to play in.
"We got our first look at the court about a week before the semi-final," remembers Donnelly who was then the rising star on Vincent's senior team.
"Given where we had come from, the place blew us away." By neat coincidence, Vincent's and Neptune would christen this stadium as well, meeting in the first of that year's semi-finals. The Dublin team gained revenge and went on to take the Cup. In the mid-90s, as other Irish sports began to copy the idea of sponsorship, basketball clubs suffered as the business went elsewhere. Although league attendance began to dip, the cup still held a place in the public affections and fresh clubs, like Star of Belfast, Ballina and the Waterford Wildcats brought with them a new audience. Financial constraints meant that in time, the IBA would reduce the number of American players per team to just one as traditional clubs were buckling under the cost.
"It was a strange thing," says O'Sullivan, "that in the middle of a recession in the 1980s, so many Irish clubs could afford to pay two Americans maybe three or four hundred quid a week. But they managed to do it, somehow."
As the GAA blossomed phenomenally through television and rugby opened up to market forces, it became obvious that a small sport like basketball would have to persevere in their shadow. The cup, through thick and thin, has remained the jewel in the crown and has always produced something controversial or magical. Karl Donnelly still finds the atmosphere in close game gives him the shivers. Tom O'Sullivan is back as assistant coach at Neptune after leaving the game for seven years. Sometimes as few as 400 people show up at the famous Cork gym for league games and O'Sullivan shakes his head when he thinks back to the days when Neptune was the hottest ticket in town.
Still, there is some talent coming through and although aristocrats of the cup are not in this year's showdown, he is adamant they will be back in town soon enough. He has a couple of young sons taking an interest in the game and he sometimes still runs the floor himself. Asked if he can still nail the "three", he laughs.
"Sometimes." 1985 - TERRY STRICKLAND STEALS THE BALL
With the clock ticking down in the cup final, and Blue Demons in possession and leading by a point, Strickland stole the ball and scored the lay up on the buzzer to hand Neptune their first National Cup title.
1988 - JOHN CARSON SHOOTS THE LIGHTS OUT
In the quarter-final John Carson of St Declan's hit 50, including nine three-pointers to knock the then league leaders Killester out of the cup. In the semi-final against North Mon, Carson scored 38, including two vital threes when Declan's were two down with less than 90 seconds to go, to win 89-88. In the final, he shot a stunning 50 points but Neptune went on to win 93-90.
1989 - EVANS V McELROY: THE DUEL
Jasper McElroy is widely regarded as the best American to grace Irish basketball. La Verne Evans was not far behind. In 1989 final, McElroy's Demons faced Evans' Corinthians and a shoot-out between two of the finest scorers ensured. McElroy scored 39,but it wasn't enough, as Evans scored 49, to give Corinthians a two-point win.
2000 - ERIC BLAIR: THE SHOT
In 2000 Notre Dame faced a strong St Vincent's team. With the scores level and just 11 seconds left, Brian Benjamin made his way to the other end of the court, holding the ball up. With just two seconds on the clock he passed to Eric Blair on the edge of the key. Blair scored to give Notre Dame their fourth National Cup in a row.
2003 - SHANE COUGHLAN KEEPS HIS COOL.
In 2003 UCC Demons faced Star of the Sea in the final. The underdogs pushed Star all the way, the game going into overtime. Demons had possession with less than five seconds on the clock and the game looked certain to go into a second period of extra-time when James Singleton attempted a basket from outside the three-point rim, but missed. However, Shane Coughlan was fouled as the buzzer sounded, which meant a visit to the free throwline. Coughlan missed the first free throw, but made the second to send Demons fans wild with an 84-83 victory.
