News

Blackwater Steelers started off the 2019/20 Season with three games at home to Liby Dynamites.

BWS U12 Girls 20pts Liby Dynamites 25pts

This was a first ever competitive game for most of these girls. They started off very nervous but as the game progressed they settled well. Some great defense by our girls kept Liby scoreless in the last quarter.  Looking forward to watching this team improve with every game. 

BWS U14 Boys (A) 54pts Liby Dynamites 22pts

Coaches were delighted to get the win in the first game of the season for the U14 Boys (A) against Liby Dynamites.  The lads showed a great attitude and worked well on their defence.  There's lots of work to do but the Coaches are looking forward to working with this great bunch of lads in the season ahead.

To kickstart the new basketball Season this week, Coach Ed Macho Rodrigeuz from Seville Spain arrived in Monaghan to join our North Monaghan club. Ed’s basketball credentials are vast and superb having played amateur and then semi professional basketball in Madrid and Seville federated category.
In Later years Ed trained to a high coaching level 2 and was head coach of a very successful club that he formed and developed.

Ed will be joined in his new home place by his Wife Rosa and daughters Paula age 8 and Selma age 3 in a few weeks time.

All the coaches players and parents at club Steelers are delighted to have Ed on board and we are looking forward to the season ahead.

The Blackwater Steelers family put on a great show when they recently hosted the NEBB Top 4 and Plate Finals for both Girls and Boys U 12 age group. The U 12 A boys and girls were hosted in St. Macartans College and the U 12 Plate finals were hosted in Colaiste Oiriall. Two clubs went away with all the silver ware as Cavan Lakers boys and Girls won out in the top tier at the expense of the host club Steelers in both genders and in the 2nd tier Navan Cougars beat Liby Dynamites in both as well.

In the Boys A Top 4s Cavan Lakers beat Muckno Lakers by 29pts to 19pts in the 1st Semi while Blackwater Steelers beat East Cavan Eagles by 26pts to 17pts. Although Cavan Lakers have gone unbeaten for the whole of the season the Steelers gave them their fill of it over the course of the game. It was 18pts each going into the last and only 3 in it with 3 to go but the Lakers finished the game off well winning by 10pts.

In the Girls A Top 4s Cavan Lakers beat Carrick Cruisers by 37pts to 14pts in the first semi and Blackwater Steelers beat Dundalk Ravens by 27pts to 16pts in the 2nd. This was an unexpected 1st v 3rd pairing but Cavan Lakers were just too strong and completed the League and Cup Double just like their male counterparts.

Meanwhile over in Colaiste Oiriall a very strong competitive Plate competition was taking place. League Winners Navan Cougars beat Streete Warriors in the first game while Libby Dynamites were too strong for a very young Blackwater Steelers T2 in the 2nd semi, but the lads were gutsy and made Libby fight. Navan Cougars were way too strong for Libby in the final for 3 quarters until Libby fought back and were only 2pts off creating the shock of the day.

In the Girls plate Navan Cougars were too strong for Dunshaughlin Rockets while in the best game of the day Libby just overcame East Coast Cavillers only after they forced overtime after better free shooting save them. Again, it was a Double for the Navan Girls as they won the Final comprehensively and that completed a very successful day for Navan Cougars.

16 hungry teams and their parents descended on St Macartans and Colaiste Oiriall on Sunday and of course the Club handled it brilliantly. But that would not have happened without the help of a lot of people. Blackwater Steelers would like to thank all the parents who helped in any way at all over Saturday in the preparation and or Sunday in the execution.

The club would also like to thank the following business in the town who donated all manner of food and goods, they are Charlies Meats, McNally’s Service Station, McCleary’s Londis, Dinkins, Lidl and The Westenra Hotel. We wish to thank the two schools for their facilities, the table officials and the referees on the day who came from near and far. Well done to all the kids that took part and it all went off very sportingly.

The Blackwater Steelers Family is not that extensive, they are a small group of Coaches, committee members and dedicated parents (but always open to new people) who give up a fierce amount of time for the benefit of Basketball playing kids. Well done and thank you!

Congratulations to the BWS U16 girls who claimed the top 4 North East regional title at the weekend to add to their North East league title. The North East competition covers the counties of Monaghan, Cavan, Longford, Meath and Louth.

The league which started last October saw the girls playing 15 games in total of which they won 12 making them League winners. Following on from the league the girls travelled to Drogheda last Saturday to play a cup competition. The team were down some key players due to injury however this didn’t stop the squad from securing the Cup title too.

In the semi-final the BWS girls beat Dundalk’s Liby Dynamites in an exciting and challenging fast paced game. Running out 3pt winners in the end. The reward for this was a final against East Cavan Eagles. The girls started strong and seemed to have the game in control. However a very determined East Cavan Eagles team, came fighting back which resulted in a very close fourth quarter. With just under 1 minute left Eagles led by 1pt. The Steelers moved the ball around which left Paula free for an open shot which she knocked down giving Steelers the lead with less than 30 secs left in the game. The girls played superb defence to not allow Eagles get a shot off (which was the case throughout the day) and they managed to hold on to claim the top 4 cup.

This is a great achievement to the team and to their coaches Delma Mulligan and Kellie McCabe. And nothing short of what the players deserved.

As league winners the team will now go further to represent the region at the All Ireland club championships in April competing with the other regions of Ireland e.g. Munster, North West, Galway and the Midlands. Best of luck to the coaches and players from all at Blackwater Steelers.

U16 Team: Niamh O Connell, Holly Mc Quaid Erica Mc Donald, Katie Deery, Paula Macias, Rachel Callery, Ava Ross , Brid Mc Nally,  Alex Mc Kenna , Aine Ni Dhufaigh   Mollie Birdy, Cathy Mc Kenny, Rachel Lennon , Alex Carlisle, Aine Mc Quaid.

This was another great day for the Blackwater Steelers Basketball Club when during some home matches last Sunday Greg Devlin from Silverhill Farms presented the club with what has become an annual sponsorship cheque. The Blackwater Steelers basketball club was formed in 2007, and since 2012 this very successful local company have been very supportive to the club each year.

For anyone who doesn’t know, and I can’t imagine there are many, Silver Hill Farm is located just outside Emyvale and is a fully integrated family owned Duck Company.  All aspects of the duck production are owned and controlled by Silver Hill Farm, from breeding, egg production, hatching and selection, to processing, cooking and packaging.  To ensure all this work is done to an excellent standard, Silver Hill Farm now employs 200 workers, making it a pillar for local employment.

Over the last number of years Silver Hill Farm has seen great growth and now supply quality duck and duck products to outlets all over the world.  Despite exporting most of the product, Irish fans are not left without and can find Silver Hill Duck in many shops and restaurants throughout Ireland, as well as our lovely Farm Shop in Emyvale.  Blackwater Steelers are just delighted to have such a world leading company supporting them for another year.

The club has presently 10 underage teams participating in the North East Basketball League which covers the areas of Monaghan Cavan Meath Longford and Louth. There are some 150 kids on registered teams at all the age groups and a further 60 younger aged kids playing with our junior academy. We also have a very successful Men’s team who are on course for a third-place finish in their first year. The club is out training every evening of the week from approx. 6.30 to 9 between St Macartans College and Colaiste Oiriall Monaghan. The competitive games are held most weekends with coaches, kids, parents and helpers travelling to such places as Dunshaughlin or Virginia Cavan.
 
Since its foundation the club has won numerous regional titles each year at U12, U14, U16 and U18 age groups with both boys and girls. 2017 was a special year for the club when they won Two All-Ireland competitions with the U14 Boys team achieving their gold title in Limerick in April and the U16 girls gaining their title in Carlow in the same month.
 
Blackwater Steelers wish to express their sincere gratitude to Silver Hill Farm for their continued support.
 
At the weekend there were 5 games in the Phoenix Centre when we visited our near neighbours Carrick Cruisers. The U 12 girls won a tight game in overtime by 31pts to 28pts which will secure 2nd place and a Top 4 semi-final. The U 12 boys won with a good pacey performance by 42pts to 22pts and have secured 2nd place and a Top 4 semi-final. The U 14 girls were beaten by a good Carrick team and the U 14 A Boys won by 33pts to 25pts, but it won’t be enough to secure a Top 4 finish for either side. The U16 B Boys had a good win by 42pts to 13pts and have an outside chance of making the Top 4’s.

Meanwhile at home in the Sem on Saturday the U 16 girls took one step closer to winning the U 16 A league by beating top team Drogheda Sparks by 61pts to 40pts. It’s certainly in their own hands and they have another tight game in the Sem at 7.15pm on Thursday against Muckno Lakers.

Later on Saturday evening the Steeler Men secured 3rd place and a semi-final against East Cavan Eagles when they beat Drogheda Bullets B Men by 75pts to 61pts. That Semi Final is in the East Cavan Eagles home court in Virginia, Co. Cavan this coming Saturday night at 7.30pm.

Blackwater Steelers took 5 teams up to Dunshaughlin Rockets on Sunday but only managed 2 wins from 5 games. The day started off brilliantly when the U 12 Dev Boys took to the floor for a wonderful battle with the home side. This game had everything as both sides went full throttle. The Rockets had the better of the early skirmishes and took the lead, but the Steelers resolve did not weaken as they kept in touch up to half time. The advantage switched a couple of times in the third and the fourth, and all the smart money was on overtime. With around 40 seconds to go the Monaghan side took a decisive lead and despite the best efforts of the Rockets it finished Dunshaughlin Rockets 25pts Blackwater Steelers 27pts.

U18 Boys : Rockets 70pts Blackwater Steelers 47pts

The U18 boys came up short against a faster, sharper Rockets team and really succumbed too easily to what was on the day a better Rockets team. What this team lack is cohesive teamwork and that was certainly exposed in this game. This result will hurt their chances of a top four place.

Team & Scorers: S. Uglis 30pts, C. McKenna 7pts, C. Liddle 7pts, L. McKenna 2pts, K. Ziubrys 1pt, D. McKenna and K. McCaffrey.

U14 Dev Boys: Rockets 17pts Blackwater Steelers 40pts

This was a good win for these lads all be it against one of the easier oppositions and leaves them knocking on the door of the top four play offs. They won 3 out of the 4 quarters and evidence of an improving understanding of the game is emerging.

Team & Scorers: O. Reilly 12pts, M. McNally 8pts, L. Irwin 6pts, M. Aughey 4pts, J. Lambrindis 4pts, E. McGinn 2pts, D. McGinnity 2pts, S. Cudden 2pts, F. Boonstra, A. Hall, R. Conway and R. McMahon.

U14 Girls: Rockets 46pts Blackwater Steelers 26pts

The elusive win still evades the 14 Girls this season but they competed well throughout the game.

Team & Scorers: D. Cawley 7pts, G. McCongaille 2pts, A. McGinnity 7pts, E. Curran 4pts, A. McSkeane 3pts, L. Lennon, S. Healy, C. O Neil, S. O Donnell and C Nally 3pts.

U14 A Boys: Rockets 38pts Blackwater Steelers 33pts.

This game was tight throughout, in fact there was only 1pt between the teams in 3 out of the 4 quarters but unfortunately it fell on the Rockets side. The lads worked hard throughout and were a little unlucky.

Team & Scorers: J. Wright 7pts, B. O Brien 6pts, H. Colleran 5pts, J. Murphy 3pts, A. Elsayed 3pts, S. Woods 3pts, A. McKnight 2pts, C. Murphy 2pts, J. McConnan 2pts and A. Walsh.

No Games next weekend as the All Ireland Schools Play Offs are being hosted in the area.