A three at the death sealed the second of two Limerick wins at the Portlaoise pre-season tournament.
Some games stay with you. For the Limerick Lions U16 boys, the one that ended on a buzzer-beating three in Portlaoise will be hard to forget. The shot dropped, the bench emptied, and the young side had their second win of the day.
It was the high point of a busy outing at the event hosted by Portlaoise Panthers. The Lions played three competitive games, against the Panthers, Galway Titans and Énna, and walked away with two of them.
The other win was no easier on the heart rate. That one went to overtime, with the Lions keeping their composure in the extra minutes to get over the line. Two finishes that close in a single tournament will tell you plenty about a young group.
At U16 level, that kind of nerve in the final minute is not always there in August. It is the sort of thing coaches hope to develop across a season, not something they expect from a first outing. Limerick found it here, twice.
There is a long road between a pre-season tournament and the games that matter. But a side that already knows how to win the close ones has given itself a good start to the year.
The shot dropped, the bench emptied, and the young side had their second win of the day.
Limerick Lions