St.Malachy's bounced back from their 1 point loss in the All Ireland Schools Cup with a hard fought victory over IS Killorglin (Co.Kerry) in the All Ireland League Final. In front of a big crowd at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin, the first half was a tight affair as both teams defences were on top. St.Malachy's captain Niall McGinnity was in great form, Jack Summersgill hit a big 3 pointer, Peter Henvey was super on defence and CJ Fulton controlled the tempo of the game very well from the point guard position. The teams were locked at 25-25 at the half. It remained close in the third quarter with Conor Cooke rebounding the ball superbly and Conor Ryan (7 points) knocked down a huge 3 pointer to keep the Belfast boys level at 32-32. Roared on by a great St.Malachy's support, Matthew Mulholland sparked a 12-0 run 2 minutes into the 4th quarter. A three pointer and another 3 point play were supplemented by a steal and a 3 point play by MVP Niall McGinnity (21 points). This run broke the resolve of a talented Killorglin unit who never got to terms with St.Malachy's Head Coach Phil Molloy's clever defensive tactics which really kept Killorglin's two best players very quiet. St.Malachy's showed their quality in the last quarter winning it 15-2 to run out winners on a scoreline of 50-37. This victory is extra special as the All Ireland League winners qualify to represent Ireland in the World Schools Games in Croatia next April.

Squad: Nial McGinnity; Peter Henvey; Diarmuid Maguire; Aidan McGeown; Michael Lavery; Jack Summersgill; Matthew Mulholland; Cormac O'Rourke; Conor Cooke; Conor Ryan; CJ Fulton.