Basketball/ Tralee 85 UCC Demons 70: It won't be remembered as the Kieran Donaghy final, as the most valuable player award correctly went to American Dave Fanning. Nor can it be christened a classic affair. The margin of victory was too vast.

Simply put, the momentum Tralee brought to proceedings was in direct contrast to the disasters which had befallen the UCC Demons.

Really, this Superleague Cup final, in front of a healthy 2,200 crowd, was decided in the initial exchanges. By half-time a contest certainly appeared to exist, with the Tigers just 44-37 in front. But in reality the Demons had practically nothing left in reserve.

In a game of this magnitude, certain people need to make their presence felt. The paid players need to earn their money. Fanning delivered with a domineering display that included 24 points and eight rebounds, seven of which were defensive. He also seemed to be in constant possession.

LaShon Sheffield had produced a captivating display to get the Demons to the final, but he was anonymous here; 16 points is an inadequate return from an American in an Irish Cup final.

Sheffield shadowed Fanning throughout. The pair are - relatively speaking - pint-sized Americans, which might explain why they are not plying their trade on the Continent, but either over-exuberance or a lack of skill saw LaShon largely grasping at thin air.

Another crucial aspect of a cup final is the performances of a team's Irish contingent. The Demons know they can rely on Shane Coughlan in the white heat of battle, but the Cork native is coming back from a hand injury. This week he was struck down with flu, but he bravely showed up at the National Arena yesterday.

"The second time we tried him he pulled his groin," explained Demons coach Pat Price. "It's a shame that it didn't work out for him, but he has just had a rough year."

Niall Murphy and Benito Flores did combine for 41 points, but it was the Tigers two Gaelic footballers who must be recognised with the best-supporting accolades.

The rebounding of Wilder Auguste, Donaghy and Micheál Quirke was immense, particularly in defence, and particularly Donaghy in the opening half, when he gobbled up six defensive rebounds.

One cameo stands out.

A battling Coughlan came up short to allow the Kerry full forward grasp possession, before flinging the ball down court with a reverse pass that didn't require so much as a glance. Fanning gathered for a special slam dunk.

That pushed the lead out to 10 points, and while still early days, a sufficient statement had been made.

After the presentation ceremony a horde of children surrounded Donaghy as he tried to subtlety exit stage left from his celebrating team-mates.

Right, you dominated the summer's footballing stories, how does this compare?

"This club is a big part of my life growing up. I didn't want to let them down just for a holiday, although I realise it was an important holiday."

The importance of the All Star trip to Dubai is debatable.

Donaghy's exit here was somewhat controversial. He was fouled out in the closing stages and his reaction earned him a technical.

"I thought I played okay, in the first half. The fifth foul was a bit harsh. It was stupid getting the fourth, by going behind the back (he proceeded to barge through the defender in what was clearly a momentary reversion to football), but I thought the fifth was strange."

The officials came in for a fair amount of criticism. Referee Dave Collings called Pat Price on a technical foul for, what Price claimed, was instructing his own players.

Collings also appeared to make a mess of an incident involving the Tigers Auguste and the Demons Niall Murphy. Television picked up Price informing the official that the decision to give the Tigers five free throws as "a joke".

However, Price regained his composure immediately after the game when asked whether the officiating had affected the result.

"To win a cup you need lots of things to go right for you and we had lots of things to go wrong. Shane's injury. A lot of shots that were open for us two weeks ago weren't open here. It's disappointing, because we did get some decent looks at the basket.

"I think it was fairly obvious what was acceptable. It's not for me to bemoan. Did it affect the outcome of the game? I doubt it.

"There wasn't the consistency that you would like to see. We got a technical for me yelling at one of my own players, but it didn't cost us the game.

"My guys weren't going to go down easy. It might have looked like it, but that's a credit to the Tigers."