Swords Thunder

Swords Thunder was an Irish basketball team based in Dublin. The team competed in the Super League and played its home games at the ALSAA Sports Complex.

Swords Thunder
LeaguesSuper League
Founded2011
Dissolved2019
HistoryDublin Thunder
2011–2013
Swords Thunder
2013–2019
ArenaALSAA Sports Complex
LocationDublin Airport, Dublin
Team colorsRed, black, white

History

Dublin Thunder

In 2010, Dublin Thunder Basketball Club was founded.[1] The following year, founder member Dave Baker became the inaugural coach of club's senior men's representative team. Aligned with Dublin Business School,[2] Baker applied for national league status, but rulings required them to have played at least one year at local level before playing in the national league. With the Dublin league being full, Dublin Thunder entered the European Friendly Basketball League (EFBL). Between July 2011 and January 2012, they went unbeaten in the EFBL. They also boasted a friendly record of 27–1, having played 28 games against four American colleges, a pro team from the Philippines and five SuperLeague teams.[3] On 27 January 2012, Dublin Thunder won the Basketball Ireland Senior Men's National Cup with an 87–45 win over UCD Marian in the final.[4][5][6]

For the 2012–13 season, Thunder entered the National League Division 1.[7]

Swords Thunder

For the 2013–14 season, the team was renamed Swords Thunder after Dublin Thunder Basketball Club linked with Swords Basketball Club.[1] They went on to finish runners-up in the National League Division 1 while securing the Three Nations Cup title in Lecce, Italy.[8][9]

For the 2014–15 season, Swords Thunder entered the Premier League and finished as regular season runners-up.[10]

In the 2015–16 season, Thunder made their maiden final appearance in the Hula Hoops Men's National Cup, where they lost 78–75 to Templeogue.[11][12]

In the 2016–17 season, Thunder won the Hula Hoops Men's National Cup with a 72–51 victory over Killester in the final.[13][14] They also finished as regular season runners-up for the second time in three years.[15]

In February 2019, Swords Thunder disbanded and withdrew from the Super League midway through the 2018–19 season. The team began the season relatively well and were in third spot in November, but after founder and coach Dave Baker began suffering with health problems, the team started to fall apart and its relationship with main sponsor Griffith College began to weaken.[16][17]

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References
  1. "Dublin Thunder Basketball Club". facebook. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. O'Connor, Ruaidhri (30 September 2011). "Basketball: Champions Killester aim for Star as new season gets in gear". independent.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2019. ...while Isaac Westbrooks and Michael Goj have joined the Dublin Business School's side Dublin Thunder.
  3. Mooney, Brendan (27 January 2012). "Thunder set to make noise in big time". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. "National Cup finals preview". rte.ie. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  5. Lakes, Colm (1 February 2012). "Thunder too powerful for UCD Marian". universityobserver.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. O'Donoghue, Ross (29 January 2016). "Templeogue slight favourites for novel national cup final". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019. As Dublin Thunder, Baker's club won the Senior Men's Cup for lower league teams in 2012.
  7. McDermott, Niall (5 October 2012). "National Basketball League returns to Donegal". thecourtsidecollective.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016.
  8. "Swords Thunder explode onto scene". independent.ie. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  9. "Thunder's Italian job". gazettegroup.com. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  10. "Swords Thunder secure league runners-up finish". rte.ie. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. Blake, Ben (30 January 2016). "Templeogue pip GCD Swords Thunder in dramatic Men's National Cup final". the42.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. "RECAP: 2016 Hula Hoops Men's National Cup Final". basketballireland.ie. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  13. O'Callaghan, Eoin (28 January 2017). "Griffith Swords Thunder make history and claim first ever National Cup after win over Killester". the42.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  14. Ryan, Emmet (28 January 2017). "Narbon shows he's in a different class as Swords claim cup". ballineurope.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. "League table for Mens Super League". basketballireland.ie. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017.
  16. Coughlan, John (7 February 2019). "Blow for the Super League as Swords Thunder disband". IrishExaminer.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019.
  17. Byrne, Paul (16 February 2019). "Thunderbolt as Swords bow out of Super League". independent.ie. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019.
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