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Record crowd present as Lakers host big Kerry basketball derby

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THE big Kerry basketball derby between Scotts Lakers Killarney and Keanes Killorglin drew a record crowd to Killarney Sports Centre on Saturday night and it was the visitors who emerged victorious to maintain their unbeaten record at the top of the national league table.

The Killarney venue was full to capacity long before tip-off with almost 1000 people in attendance. With Tralee Warriors also playing at home before another huge crowd, the message went out loud and clear to all other clubs that Kerry is the real hotbed in Irish basketball circles.

Following a closely contested opening half, the Killorglin side stamped their authority in the third quarter with the outstanding three-point shooting of Kevin Gray a significant factor in the victory. Gray was well supported by talented European players Daniel Jokubaitis and Ivan Bogdanovic and Killorglin’s advantage to have three quality foreign players on court at all stages throughout the match was a luxury that Scotts Lakers just did not have.

Exchanges were even from an early stage and a three-pointer from former Neptune Superleague player Ian McLoughlin helped Killorglin to a 7-4 lead after three minutes. However Killarney's Antuan Bootle was making his presence felt at both ends of the court and a three-pointer from him gave Scotts Lakers a 12-9 lead left with three minutes left.

Lakers enjoyed a very productive spell early in the second quarter racing into a 22-14 lead. Mark Greene was in outstanding form but Killorglin's foreign trio of Gray, Jokubaitis and Bogdanovic kept their side well in contention to trail 26-24 midway through the quarter. Ten points from Mark Greene in this quarter alone and notable contributions from Mihail Kapitanov and Justin Tuason maintained the Lakers challenge and it was a tied ball game at 36 points each at the half-time interval.

Not for the first time this season, it was in the third quarter where Scotts Lakers self-destruct button and capitulation kicked into force.
Killorglin duly capitalised with American Kevin Gray emerging as a real hero sinking four huge three-pointers. Gray, who actually failed to make the score-sheet in the first and final quarters, ended up with 14 points in the third quarter alone, the actual difference between the teams at the end of this period when Keanes Killorglin led 60-46.

The game looked effectively over at this stage but Scotts Lakers did manage a strong revival with Bootle, Greene, Kapitanov and Fitzgerald all hitting unanswered baskets as the home side cut the gap to trail 60-54 midway through the final quarter. However Killorglin responded well to the stop the Lakers comeback with the outstanding Jokubaitis leading the challenge. The talented Lithuanian hit 11 points in the final period to maintain a firm grip on Killorglin's advantage to eventually secure victory.

The winning margin was 11 points for Keanes Killorglin to leave them at the top of the table. Scotts Lakers, playing in their first season in the league after an absence of nearly a decade, will be anxious to get back to winning ways again after their recent losses. The Killarney side are free this weekend and are hopeful of strengthening the quality of the squad ahead of their next outing away to Letterkenny on October 28 before returning home again to Killarney Sports Centre on November 4 to welcome Galway Titans.
 


 
Above: Mark Greene, Scotts Lakers, under pressure from Daniel Jokubaitis, Keanes Killorglin, in the national league division one basketball clash in Killarney Sports Centre on Saturday night. Picture: Eamonn Keogh

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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