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The Lakers were always going to be up against it in the League Cup. Realistically they needed to beat three teams from the top four in Division 1A to win this competition so the odds were against them from the start

The one factor in their favour was home advantage in the quarters, a right they earned by finishing top of Division 1B in their first season back in the National League. Basketball Ireland’s decision to snatch that away from them at the last minute was both cruel and very hard to justify.

Whatever about the venue change affecting their chances in the competition, which it undoubtedly did, it also robbed St Paul’s of their final home game of the season. Financially speaking, they missed out on a nice chunk of money. The amount the Lakers make off the gate is the kind of cash that no team can scoff at, especially not one trying to find their feet in the league after a nine-year hiatus.

But, to me at least, the real disappointment was not being able to receive the Division 1B Shield on home court. That would have been a nice touch for the players and I’m sure younger fans especially would have enjoyed the occasion.

It’s sort of unusual as well that the League Cup is played at the end of the year. From speaking to the players, it seems as though this is the least prestigious competition in the calendar. The emphasis appears to be on winning the President’s Cup, which was finished by January, and the league, which concluded two weeks ago with the Lakers winning 1B and Killorglin winning 1A. To put it in GAA terms, it’s a bit like playing the league after the championship.

I think the fact that Basketball Ireland decided at 9.30am on Monday morning to move the Lakers v Carlow game to Neptune indicates the league’s own attitude towards the competition. It seems, from the outside anyway, that they just want to run the thing off as quickly as possible. I don’t imagine they’d do the same thing for a league decider.

It’s a sad enough end to the season for the Lakers but it shouldn’t detract from what they’ve achieved over the course of the campaign. They’ve given themselves a good platform to build on and it will be very interesting to see how far they can go over the next few years. The sky is the limit.