Mayo will have two teams in regional league as new season beckons

TWO Mayo clubs will be represented in this year’s Connaught senior men’s basketball league.

Mayo Meteors, who have been competing in this league for the past few years, will now be joined by Ballina Braves, who are drawn from a deep pool of talented young players who have come through the underage system with coach Derek Cunningham, along with a few of the senior players, including Ronan McGarrity and Paul Barrett, both of who have featured with the Ballina team operating in the National League in the past.

The arrival of a second team for what is a fairly high level competition which attracts teams from Castlerea, Boyle, Donegal, Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford is a great boost for basketball in the county and the hope is that Mayo will have a team playing at National League Division 1 level before too long.

That is the aim of Mayo Meteors coach, Terry Kennedy, who is eagerly awaiting a new season with what is generally a very young team.

"It’s great to see a second Mayo team in this competition and it will certainly provide some competitive basketball at local level," he said.

A major boost for Kennedy’s troops is the return of former St. Gerald’s College player Herman Heyl, who was part of the team which won the Under 19 A Schoolboys Cup back in 2003. Herman and Tommie Canavan were joint captains of the best college basketball team to be produced at Castlebar's St. Gerald’s, having won the Under 16 Cup in 2001.

"We have a good group together and the return of Herman is a great boost, but we have a great bunch of young players and they are looking forward to the new season, especially with Ballina also having a team. It is good for the competition," he said.

Also looking forward to the season is Ballina Braves coach Derek Cunningham, who has to be pleased with the performance in a recent friendly against a strong team from Donegal. It took Ballina while to get going but they eventually wore down the visiting side to record an impressive 72-61 victory.

In a game played at a high tempo, Ballina used their bench well, with all players getting valuable court time. Donegal, who ran into some foul trouble, did not have same depth in their panel.

Cunningham has mixed the not-so-old with the not-so-young and a few very young players.

He said: "We felt there was a need to step up to a stronger competition and this will provide valuable experience for a lot of the younger lads who have come through from Under 17 this year."

The coach added: "The likes of Ronan McGarrity and Paul Barrett bring a lot of experience with them and it is great to see the younger players getting the opportunity to bring their skills to a higher level."