Results
| Date (W/E) | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Preliminary Round 1 | ||||
| 25.10.1998 | Clare Jets | 81 | Longnecks Ballina | 76 |
| Preliminary Round 2 | ||||
| 25.10.1998 | Cobras | 46 | Tralee Tigers | 113 |
| 25.10.1998 | Clare Jets | 81 | Queen’s Graduates | 76 |
| First Round | ||||
| 01.11.1998 | Denny Notre Dame | 84 | UCD Marian | 76 |
| 01.11.1998 | Tralee Tigers | 85 | Clare Jets | 74 |
| 01.11.1998 | Neptune | 66 | Blue Demons | 81 |
| 01.11.1998 | Dungannon | 74 | Waterford Crystal | 80 |
| 01.11.1998 | Dublin Bay Vikings | 60 | Burger King Limerick | 99 |
| 01.11.1998 | Marlborough Saints | 94 | Team Sligo Dairies | 82 |
| 01.11.1998 | Star of the Sea | 95 | Killester | 81 |
| 01.11.1998 | Tolka Rovers | 85 | Kerry Spring Water Killarney | 79 |
| Quarter-Finals | ||||
| 13.12.1998 | Waterford Crystal | 67 | Star of the Sea | 68 |
| 13.12.1998 | Tralee Tigers | 72 | Denny Notre Dame | 80 |
| 13.12.1998 | Blue Demons | 84 | Tolka Rovers | 77 |
| 13.12.1998 | Burger King Limerick | 62 | Marathon Sports St. Vincent’s | 80 |
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 31.01.1999 | Esat Telecom Blue Demons | 73 | Star of the Sea | 72 |
| 31.01.1999 | Denny Notre Dame | 73 | Marathon Sports St. Vincent’s | 72 |
| Final | ||||
| 31.01.1999 | Denny Notre Dame | 62 | Esat Telecom Blue Demons | 61 |
Final
| At National Basketball Arena, Tallaght 31 March 1999 | HT | FT | Top Scorers |
| Denny Notre Dame | (34) | 62 | Anthony Jenkins 19, Calvin Morris 14, Lennie McMillan 13 |
| Esat Blue Demons | (40) | 61 | Dion Wingfield 34, Duvall Simmonds 12, Paco de Benito 8 |
Report
Denny Notre Dame wrote themselves into the Irish Basketball Association history books by becoming the first team to ever win the Men’s National (Sprite) Cup three times in a row. The local favourites defeated Esat Telecom Blue Demons 62-61 in the Final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, South Dublin with 19 points from Americans Anthony Jenkins, 14 from Calvin Morris and 13 from Lennie McMillan. Despite a huge 34 point haul from game MVP American Dion Wingfield and big three-pointers from Duvall Simmonds and Spanish Bosman-ruling player Paco de Benito, the Blue Demons, who had led 40-34 at the half were unable to resist the Notre Dame challenge after their other American Simmonds went on four fouls after seven minutes of the restart and spent six minutes on the bench allowing the Tallaght side to go six points clear. With Simmonds back in with seven minutes remaining and the help of three free throws from de Benito the Corkmen managed to pull the score back to two points, but a crucial three-pointer from Jenkins and four missed free throws from Blue Demons sealed the three-in-a-row for Denny Notre Dame.
About Basketball Ireland / Irish Basketball Association Cups
The Irish Basketball Association ran the National Cup for the Top Two Divisions as well as any regional teams that wished to enter in both Men’s and Women’s as well as Junior (Under 19) Cup for both Men and Women as well as a Junior B (U19) Regional Cup for both Men and Women. The Cups were Knockout (single elimination) from the First Round. They were replaced by Super League and Division 1 Cups when the Association rebranded as Basketball Ireland in 2003. The Junior (U19) Cups were replaced by Under 20 and Under 18 Cups. Other Cups included the Irish Wheelchair Basketball Cup and introduced in the late 2010s the National Intermediate Cup Competition (Tier 3).
References
Newspapers
[1] Anon. (1999) “A-Z of Weekend Sport: Basketball” Irish Independent. Monday, October 26, 1998. Pg. 32.
[1] Anon. (1999) “A-Z of Weekend Sport: Basketball” Irish Independent. Monday, November 2, 1998. Pg. 44
[1] Anon. (1999) “A-Z of Weekend Sport: Basketball” Irish Independent. Monday, November 2, 1998. Pg. 44
[2] Anon. (1999) “A-Z of Weekend Sport: Basketball” Irish Independent. Monday, December 14, 1998. Pg. 32.
[3] Anon. (1999) “A-Z of Weekend Sport: Basketball” Irish Independent. Monday, February 1, 1999, Pg. 30
[3] Cliona Foley. (1999) “Notre Dame and Tolka Cup Joy” Irish Independent. Monday, February 1, 1999, Pg. 30
Acknowledgements
Thanks to John Folan.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 26 April 2021
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2021
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.