04/10/2026
Longford Phoenix Pre Season Tournament 2026
The Cavaliers men’s team couldn’t make it three-in-a-row at Longford Phoenix’s preseason tournament last weekend. The Cavs couldn’t live with the host’s three-point shooting in the
tournament semi-final on Sunday morning in the Mall. Mikie Gormley had 24 points for
Phoenix, all from beyond the arc, to keep Castlerea at bay. Phoenix would go on to win the tournament and Gormley took home the MVP award.
The Cavs qualified for the semi after winning two out of three group games on Saturday in
St. Mel’s College. Barna of Galway proved too big for Castlerea in the first game. Their size
inside and deft passing out of post positions for easy lay-ups gave them the platform to
take the win. The Cavs looked like making a comeback in the middle part of the game, but
the Galway side kept them at arm’s length leaving Castlerea needing to win their remaining games to qualify for Sunday’s semi.
It was North Star of Derry next for the Cavs and a competitive game ended with Kevin
Hester proving the difference for Castlerea. The elusive guard found his way to the rim for
some acrobatic finishes on consecutive possessions late in the game. Hester’s flourish established a manageable lead that the Cavs held until the buzzer.
The final group game saw Castlerea overcome a young and technically strong Kilkenny
Stars side. Frank Hester set the tone with his physicality around the basket as Jamie Dowd
was able to get to the basket for some impressive fast break finishes. The win put the Cavs into Sunday’s semi where Longford were waiting.
A sporting and enjoyable weekend of basketball saw ten of Castlerea’s twelve-man panel get important pre-season minutes.
Missing Joseph Henry and Ronan Cahill, the Cavs roster for the tournament were as follows: Danny Doherty, Darragh Lowry, Joe Fleming, Thomas Callaghan, Frank Hester, Kevin Hester, Dylan Keane, Joseph Botton, Jamie Dowd and Jack Dolan.
A massive thank you and congratulations to Longford Phoenix for hosting and winning the
tournament. Well done to all the club volunteers and officials on another mighty weekend of basketball. The Cavaliers will be in action in the coming weeks in the LLR League.
Let’s go Cavs!
