Ireland national basketball team

Ireland Éire
FIBA ranking	T-75th
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Basketball Ireland
Coach	Jay Larranaga
Olympic Games
Appearances	1
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
Medals	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Medals	None
Uniforms
Light Dark

Ireland is a men's international basketball team representing the island of Ireland. It is organised by Basketball Ireland, with players from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland play their home matches at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. The team has yet to qualify for the final stages of EuroBasket or the FIBA World Championship.

History

Ireland (white) against Luxembourg (blue) in 2009

Ireland's basketball association affiliated to FIBA in 1947. In 1948 the team was invited to the 1948 Olympic tournament in nearby London, from which many top sides were absent in the aftermath of World War II. The team finished last, losing every match heavily. Ireland were involved in Olympic qualification in 1972,1976, 1984 and 1988.

In 1988 Ireland finished runner-up in EuroBasket Division C. In 1993 the National Basketball Arena opened which became the team's new permanent home. Division C was hosted there the following year, and Ireland beat Cyprus 81–78 in the final to gain promotion to EuroBasket Division B. Ireland narrowly failed to win promotion to Division A in EuroBasket 2005, losing to Denmark by 4 points after having won the first game in Dublin by 10 points.

In February 2010, during the Irish financial criss, Basketball Ireland announced that it was €1.2m in debt and was deactivating its senior international squads to cut costs.^[1]

EuroBasket 2009 Qualifying campaign

Team PCT. W L PF PA Diff  Georgia .875 7 1 738 549 +189  Sweden .875 7 1 627 491 +136  Slovakia .500 4 4 630 631 −1  Ireland .250 2 6 616 663 −47  Luxembourg .000 0 8 512 789 −277

GEO  IRL  LUX  SVK  SWE  Georgia – 98–73 115–73 91–50 82–72 Ireland 77–94 – 100–83 88–95 50–66  Luxembourg 65–98 70–97 – 63–76 51–96  Slovakia 78–101 75–68 110–67 – 88–89  Sweden 61–59 82–63 97–40 64–58 -

• 15 Aug: Ireland 50–66 Sweden, National Basketball Arena, (Eurobasket B)
• 19 Aug: Ireland 73–98 Georgia, Vere Basketball Hall, Tbilisi, Georgia (Eurobasket B)
• 22 Aug: Ireland 100–83 Luxembourg, National Basketball Arena, (Eurobasket B)
• 29 Aug: Ireland 68–75 Slovakia, Inter Arena Pasienky, Bratislava, Slovakia (Eurobasket B)

Current roster

Competitive record

Notable players

• Pat Burke – Only Irish-born to have played in the NBA. Played for Orlando Magic & Phoenix Suns. Also a Euroleague and ULEB Eurocup winner with Panathinaikos BC & Real Madrid Baloncesto
• Marty Conlon – NBA player for Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Clippers, but not born in Ireland
• Cal Bowdler – NBA player for Atlanta Hawks, but not born in Ireland
• Jay Larranaga – former captain of Ireland national team
• Billy Donlon – current head coach of the Wright State University men's basketball team.

Honours

• EuroBasket Division B Promotion runners-up: 2005
• EuroBasket Division C winners: 1994. runners-up: 1988

See also

• Ireland women's national basketball team
• Basketball Ireland

References

External links

• Basketball Ireland Official site

International men's basketball FIBA National teams Olympics World Cup Universiade U21 World Championship U19 World Championship U17 World Championship World Rankings Africa FIBA Africa – FIBA Africa Championship U-18 U-16 Americas FIBA Americas – FIBA Americas Championship U-18 U-16 Asia FIBA Asia – FIBA Asia Championship U-18 U-16 Europe FIBA Europe – FIBA EuroBasket U-20 U-18 U-16 Oceania FIBA Oceania – FIBA Oceania Championship U-18 U-16 Other tournaments Acropolis Tournament Adecco Cup Albert Schweitzer Tournament All-Africa Games Asian Games Commonwealth Games Diamond Ball FIBA Asia Cup FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament Lusophony Games Marchand Cup Mediterranean Games Stanković Cup Pan American Games Pan Arab Games TBF International Under-16 Tournament William Jones Cup World Cup (Turkey) Note: The Under-21 Championship is no longer held.