BASKETBALL/European Championship: Defending a 14-point lead against quality opposition is uncharted territory for Irish basketball.
Gerry Fitzpatrick's men failed to build up an insurmountable advantage last Saturday in Dublin so they now must hold on when the Danish onslaught arrives tomorrow afternoon.
The Danes were shocked into submission in the first leg of qualification for the top 16 of European competition as they assumed without Pat Burke - The Phoenix Suns again refused to release him this week - Ireland would capitulate under the rim. It was a disastrous evening in rebound averages but Michael Bree, Cal Bowdler and Jim Moran produced the performances to paper over some glaring cracks.
But when Ireland hit the magical 20-point lead, they lacked the composure to close out the game. Also, Denmark finished the stronger.
"They are a younger, perhaps more feisty team than us," said Fitzpatrick. "They dominated the offensive rebounds at the end of the game, which was not too worrying as our players began to tire. Considering they have guys who are 7ft 3in and 6ft 11in, for the most part, I thought we did a good job. After what we have done, I'm not going to start criticising my team after they achieved a 14-point victory in international basketball."
However, Denmark will fancy their chances of turning this around. For Ireland it is about learning the lessons of their last away trip, to Geneva on September 7th. That night they were crowded out and constricted to three-point shooting. The same happened against the Slovak Republic and last Saturday but, crucially, this lot have the bottle to make big shots from distance.
Several questions must now be answered correctly for Ireland to make the historic breakthrough.
Can Bowdler and Moran keep their performances at last week's standard? Can Marty Conlon pull another epic display from his weary 37-year-old bones?
Can Jay Larranaga become an inspirational platoon leader in the absence of Ireland's only NBA star? Can the bit part players - Conor Grace and Lorcan Precious in particular - produce effective cameos?
It's almost certain Denmark's key men will improve, especially Barcelona player Christian Drejer who was ridiculously disinterested at the National Arena. Also, their giant Chris Chrisoffersen will receive kinder treatment from the referees in Aarhus than in Dublin.
If Ireland discover a scoring blitz during the nitty-gritty period after half-time, Larranaga's contribution will be key here, they can get into a position to take whatever the Danes throw at them on the home strait.
This team's character is unquestioned. In Fitzpatrick, who is also the Waterford hurlers' sports psychologist, they have the ideal guide to keep them focused on performing and not just defending the 14-point gap.
"How do you do that? You go out and play the game," says the head coach.
"It's about winning the game so we will only look at the scoring near the end. It sounds simple but we are not together long enough as a group to adopt a complicated approach. We will do the same stuff offensively and defensively."
