No romantic tale for the musketeers. Instead, a display of pure class. Killester used their depth and quality to stunning effect at the National Basketball Arena at the weekend to regain the ESB National Cup after a 13-year absence.
Less than 24 hours after they stopped Notre Dame's drive for five, they wore down non-league Ballina in a telling third-quarter that saw them outscore their opponents 25 to 12. From there, the game stretched in one direction only and although Ballina never made it easy, Killester never let them back.
This season, Killester have been better by design. Coach Mark Ingle assembled players with enough cup experience to breed envy, and as current league leaders, they are now on course for a first double in the club's history.
Yesterday, John Leahy showed leadership beyond description. Adrian Fulton was tireless. Eric Jackson's role was less conspicuous but by keeping Liam McHale out of the game, he was unanimous for the MVP award.
But it was the ruthless third quarter that proved most crucial. At that stage, Ballina were up by two, 36-34, but already Deora Marsh and McHale were starting to sweat. The tempo of the game was gradually heating up and the heart of this Ballina team could only turn by the clock so far.
Marsh has already celebrated a couple of birthdays in his 40s and while his vision was at times inspiring, the tank was limited. He ended the half with 14 points, but from then on was struggling to stay in tune.
Bryan Howard remained Ballina's most consistent performer - including two memorable three-pointers - and Damon Rowntree also endured for long periods, but Killester were drawing from the deeper well. They levelled up within moments of the restart and opened a 10-point lead in a matter of minutes. By the end, 10 of their team had made the scoring sheet, led by Jackson (22), Leahy (21) and Ed Randolph (14).
"Our strength was always going to be our depth," said Ingle. "I felt we had them on the wrack in the third quarter and we just kept up the tempo. The emotion of the weekend can be draining but there was no lack of leadership out there, especially from John Leahy."
The 6 ft 7 in American, who previously won cup titles with Star of the Sea, struck key points in the second half. Ballina clawed back to 10-points with just under five minutes to go but Leahy then hit a succession of two-pointers that finally ended Ballina's hoop dream.
The night was then given a remarkable ending when 17year-old Michael Westbrooks joined his father Jerome on court for the final two minutes, and picked up four points.
For Ballina, it was still a weekend to remember. Friday night's win over Waterford saw both McHale and Marsh produce moments of romantic poetry.
The two junior titles produced slightly more unexpected results, especially with Neptune ending Notre Dame's hopes of at least claiming some silverware over the weekend. The Cork club ended up convincing 93-79 winners on the men's side, with Colin O'Reilly playing the most decisive role with his 23-point contribution.
The University of Limerick were denied the junior women's title when Thurles edged home 65-61 winners. Limerick fought back from a 20-point deficit to make it a two-point game with just 15 seconds remaining but with the heroics of Anne Marie Healy, the Tipperary side held on.
Killester: Barry, Jackson (22), Fulton (6), Sealy (4), Randolph (14), Grennell (1), J Westbrooks (8), Kelly (2), Quigley (5), Mason, M Westbrooks (4), Leahy (21).
Ballina: Barrett, McStay (5), Lacken, Adams, Marsh (23), Howard (17), Conroy, L McHale (8), Rowntree (18), Cunningham, A McHale, Walsh.
