Emma and Ellie Glavin

Offaly twins selected for Ireland Under 18 women's basketball squad

Offaly twins have been named in Ireland Under 18 women's basketball squad for the upcoming FIBA U18 Women’s European Challengers.

Emma and Ellie Glavin, from Tullamore Basketball Club were named by Ireland U18 women’s head coach Tommy O’Mahony in a 12-person final squad for the FIBA U18 Women’s European Challengers 2021, that will take place in Klatovy, Czech Republic from July 27 to August 1.

Emma and Ellie are 17 years of age and students of Tullamore College.

The European Youth Championships have been cancelled this year and replaced by the ‘European Challenge 2021’, a round-robin tournament, which will have a maximum of six countries in a group. Each group will be seeded.

Emma and Elllie are among four uncapped players in the panel.

Head coach Tommy O’Mahony hailed the hard work and dedication of his squad ahead of the FIBA European Challengers. “Over the last month the squad have put in a tremendous effort in their preparation for the FIBA European Challengers. We are delighted with the effort and application that the players have shown thus far. Due to the fact that we have been off court for a long period we had to adjust our plans, which the players have wholeheartedly bought in to”, he said.

O’Mahony added: “We are looking forward to testing our skills against some of the best countries in Europe. While we are sure all the girls are delighted to make it this far, they also realise that a lot of effort is required in the next couple of weeks to make sure we are in prime condition to compete at this level. Bringing the squad down to 12 was an incredibly difficult task and the management staff would like to thank all panel members to date for their efforts. While some players are disappointed that they missed out, we are sure they will come back stronger when the season starts.”

30 teams registered for FIBA U18 Women’s European Challengers, with team seedings and group allocation based off U16 results from 2019, the last time youth FIBA European Championships took place. Ireland are in Group B of the FIBA U18 Women’s European Challengers and will play Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey and Serbia. The tournament has a round robin format, game schedules and times are still to be confirmed by FIBA.