Dramatic late comeback sees Titans claim first national title

Titans 68

Kilkenny 65

An unbelievable final quarter comeback in which the lead was swapped an amazing six times saw Joyce, Mackie and Lougheed Titans dig deep into their reserves to eke out a win against a buoyant and competitive Left Bank Kilkenny in the 2014 Men’s Division 1 National Cup final at the weekend.

The Titans opened the game with a fine three-pointer from the corner by Paulius Pelzius, and took an early lead through fast paced breakaways from Tomas Mitkus and Emmet Murphy going ahead 9-3 in the first few minutes, but they ended the quarter by being double scored 20-10 by the Kilkenny team.

The Kilkenny outfit maintained that four point lead at half-time, and they stretched the gap to seven points by the end of the third quarter, but the Titans rallied in the final quarter, and they edged three points in front with just second left, taking the title after a late Kilkenny three-point effort that would have forced extra-time hit the ring and bounced to safety.