Tralee Warriors

Tralee Warriors Basketball Club, also known as Garvey's Tralee Warriors for sponsorship reasons, is an Irish basketball club based in Tralee that currently consists of a men's team that competes in the Super League, as well as an Under 20s side. Their home arena is the Tralee Sports Complex.

Tralee Warriors
LeaguesSuper League
Founded2016
ArenaTralee Sports Complex
LocationTralee, Ireland
Team coloursGreen, blue, white
Main sponsorGarvey's Supervalu Tralee
PresidentTerry O'Brien
Head coachPat Price
Championships1 (2019)

History

In May 2016, a new Tralee basketball team was inducted into the Super League for the 2016–17 season.[1] The team came about after a collaboration between local clubs Tralee Imperials and St. Brendan's. Tralee's return to National League basketball, having previously hosted a team called Tralee Tigers, brought with it one of Ireland's best known basketball players, Kieran Donaghy. Donaghy, a dual Gaelic footballer and basketball player, played for St. Brendan's in 2015–16 and was a big part of Tralee Tigers in the early 2000s.[2][3] Originally set up as Tralee Town BC, the club was officially named Tralee Warriors Basketball Club, with their crest and colours being launched in July 2016.[4]

On 23 September 2016, Tralee Warriors made their debut in the Super League with a 92–77 loss to UCC Demons.[5] Croatian forward Dusan Bogdanovic led the way for Tralee with 16 points, while Kieran Donaghy managed 15 points in his first Super League game since 2009.[6][7] On 28 December 2016, Tralee Warriors defeated Killorglin in the Premier Mens Final of the 47th Castleisland Christmas Blitz.[8] On 2 April 2017, Tralee Warriors were crowned Champions Trophy winners after defeating regular-season champions Templeogue in the final of the season-finale tournament.[9][10] Tralee were led by American guard Trae Pemberton (21 points, 9 rebounds), Serbian forward Goran Pantovic (15 points, 18 rebounds), and game MVP Kieran Donaghy (15 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists).[11] To conclude a fantastic inaugural season, Pemberton was named Men's Super League Player of the Year, Ryan Leonard was named Men's Super League Young Player of the Year, and Head Coach Mark Bernsen made it a Kerry treble by scooping the Men's Super League Coach of the Year.[12]

In March 2018, Tralee Warriors returned to the Champions Trophy final, where they defended their title with a 73–61 win over Templeogue. Guard Paul Dick was named MVP of the final after scoring 22 points.[13]

In March 2019, Tralee Warriors were crowned champions of the Super League for the first time, as they finished on top of the table with a league-best 16–4 record.[14][15]

References
  1. "MNCC ANNOUNCE LEAGUE EXPANSION". BasketballIreland.ie. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  2. "'Huge buzz' in Tralee as Donaghy to be named on basketball roster". RTE.ie. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  3. Donoghue, Eamon (5 May 2016). "Kieran Donaghy returning to top tier basketball in October". IrishTimes.com. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. "This is the official Twitter page of the newly..." Twitter. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  5. "GAME ZONE WEEK 1: SEPT 23RD TO 25TH". BasketballIreland.ie. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  6. Coughlan, John (24 September 2016). "UCC Demons too good for new boys Tralee". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  7. Murphy, Éamonn (24 September 2016). "STAR SHOWS HIS QUALITY BUT BALANCED DEMONS HAVE TOO MUCH FIREPOWER". EveningEcho.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  8. Murphy, Murt (29 December 2016). "Ryan Leonard shows the way for Tralee Warriors". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  9. "Donaghy shines as Tralee secure Champions Trophy". RTE.ie. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  10. Coughlan, John (3 April 2017). "Kieran Donaghy stands tall to crown epic finale for Garvey's Tralee Warriors". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  11. "Templeogue vs Tralee". FIBALiveStats.com. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  12. "BASKETBALL IRELAND ANNUAL AWARDS 2017". BasketballIreland.ie. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  13. "GAMEZONE: NATIONAL LEAGUE FINALS 2018". BasketballIreland.ie. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  14. "RECAP: Tralee Crowned Champs Plus All Action From Today's Games". BasketballIreland.ie. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  15. "Mens Super League". BasketballIreland.ie. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019.
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