Tonight in the Domino’s Men’s Super League Team Flexachem are home to Ballincollig from 7.15. Ger Nolan reports
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors are away to Energywise Ireland Neptune at 6.30. Alan Cantwell reports In the curtain raiser the Warriors U20s also take on Neptune with tip off at Neptune Stadium at 4. The Warriors are 2-0 and looking to add to their wins over Rathmore Ravens and UCC Demons.
The Women’s Super League has Utility Trust St Pauls home to UCC Glanmire at 4. Enda Walshe reports
In Men’s Div 1 Killarney Cougars host Drogheda Wolves at 7.30. Clodagh Donnelly reports
Utility Trust St Pauls Lakers are at Moy Tolka Rovers from 7.30. Enda Walshe reports
Last night in a repeat of the BIDL Women's Plate Final last season, an understrength Warriors Women side found their Cork rivals Glanmire simply too good with the visitors prevailing by 83-43 in a game played at Mercy Mounthawk. After a competitive opening quarter, Glanmire began to assert as early as the second quarter to lead 42-24 at half time.
The Warriors were without the services of Louise Galvin and the energy and drive she would normally provide was a big missing for the Warriors as Glanmire took total control of the contest in the third quarter to lead 66-30 and go on to see out the 83-43 win in some style.
Glamire had a spread of scorers firing in double digits including Lauren Crean with 15 and Lucy Walsh, Katie Quinlan and Katie Mae O'Neill with 12 each.
Warriors had Orla O'Mahony on the mark for 13, Gracie O'Sulllivan with 9 and Kelly Fitzgerald with 6.
Next up for the Warriors Women is a trip to face Brunell in St. Vincents Secondary School in Cork on Saturday 10th January with tip off at 6.00pm.
Basketball Ireland weekend preview:
Belfast Star travel to the IWA to face Killester looking for their ninth win in ten games in the Domino's Men's Super League, but head coach Adrian Fulton admits it's "traditionally a venue we have struggled at down the years".
The Belfast side couldn’t fix their cup form after yet another early elimination in the Domino’s MSL National Cup last weekend against Ballincollig. Belfast’s offence will still be looking to keep up its league-leading pace with their 97.4 ppg average above and beyond the standout performers so far. However, they have tended to fall behind in quite a few games before the offence does get going, as shown in the Ballincollig game where the Cork side took a large lead early that Belfast couldn’t get back from.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, Fulton said: “Killester are a super team and are extremely well coached. Winning in the IWA is always a huge challenge and traditionally a venue we have struggled at down the years. They have been ravaged by injuries this year ,but are almost back to full strength. We are hoping to perform to a high level for as close to the full 40 minutes as possible. If we do, we will be right in the mix coming down the stretch.”
Killester have had a rough few weeks after starting well, losing their last three games between cup and league. The issues have mainly been down to the absence of Robert Braswell and Baptiste Chazelas, along with Ciaran Roe. Chazelas and Braswell have returned in the last two weeks and there is now the hope that the squad is getting back to full fitness at just the right time as we enter the Christmas period.
Limerick Celtics seem to have found a purple patch in form after two wins in the MSL National Cup against UCC Demons and St. Vincent’s either side of just their third victory in their maiden Super League season, making it three victories in their last five games in all competiitons. New acquisition Zachary Hudson has slowly started to acclimatise to life in Ireland with 18 points and eight boards in the cup last weekend against St. Vincent’s. They will be looking to move further up the table this weekend when they host a big challenge in the form of Griffith College Éanna on Saturday.
Éanna’s form has been slightly stop-start for a few weeks with a loss coming in between each of their last three wins in the Domino's Super League. However, after an international break and a cup weekend that they didn’t feature in, the Dublin side have had a few weeks off to recharge and still find themselves in third spot in the table to this point despite the rollercoaster form.
After nine games, Energywise Ireland Neptune remain bottom of the Domino's Men's Super League table, level with only UCC Demons with 1-8 records. They will be hoping the November break will give them a fresh restart when they host Garvey’s Tralee Warriors on Saturday evening. For Tralee, they will still be on a high after what was a sensational second victory over Killester in as many weeks in the Domino’s MSL National Cup. John Dowling’s men impressed considering the losses they have had in the side.
Dowling is cautious about the upcoming game in Neptune. “It is back to league play where we certainly haven’t been at our best at times. We will definitely need a full 40 minute performance in what will be a very tough away game in Neptune", he said.
UCD Marian’s offence has found another gear in the last few games, averaging just over 96 points in their last four fixtures. The upturn in scoring has paid dividends with wins over Killester and a triple OT win against Limerick Celtics. They also scored 110 against the league leaders Belfast Star, but unfortunately saw defeat by five points. They will be hoping they can grab their sixth win of the season when they host a St. Vincent’s side who have won their last three games. There is a slight blotch on their form sheet after they suffered a 23-point defeat against Limerick Celtics last Saturday in the National Cup. Both sides have been scoring for fun in the last few weeks, but only one of them will get to six wins after this weekend with both sides locked at 5-4 in the table.
Ballincollig had a big game from Josh Steel last weekend get them into the cup semi-finals against Belfast. They will be hoping that they can get the full trio of Steel, Mitchell and Jossell firing this weekend when they travel from Cork to Kerry to face Flexachem KCYMS. Killorglin have slowly slipped down the table recently, winning just two games in their six league fixtures, which has left them eighth, but they could be as low as tenth after this weekend, depending on results elsewhere.
UCC Demons have had a bit of a shake-up since they last played in the league. Both Sharif Black and Jarvis Doles are no longer with the Cork side and they have since announced the signings of two new American big’s in Jordan Washington and Tamyrik Fields, who will look to hit the ground running when Demons play EJ Sligo All-Stars on Sunday. Sligo have had a mixed campaign so far and will be looking to get their third win in their last four and start to settle in for the busy run-in over the next few weeks.
It is a battle of second vs third in the Domino’s Women’s Super League, as Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell host Trinity Meteors with both sides looking to close in on the top spot.
Both sides had strong starts followed by small hiccups this season with Brunell being handed two losses by FloMAX Liffey Celtics in the last month between cup and league. Brunell have since rebounded with wins over Catalyst Fr. Mathews and Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers. For Trinity, behind the form of Irish international Hazel Finn, they had a three-game winning streak halted by a defeat against UCC Glanmire in their last WSL game. They managed to recover well with a 15-point victory in the quarter-finals last weekend against McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles. Brunell coach Liam Culloty was eager for the matchup ahead of this weekend.
“Meteors are coming off of a great month with Seamas (Donnelly) winning coach of the month and Hazel (Finn) adding player of the month. They have quite a lot of offensive weapons and some great young players so it is going to be a great game I’m sure. We are really looking forward to the challenge” - Liam Culloty, Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell head coach
At the other end of the table, it's eighth against ninth with FloMAX Liffey Celtics hosting Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers. Liffey started their cup defence last weekend with a win against Brunell. Their league form has been slowly rebuilding two wins in their last four after starting the season 0-4. For Portlaoise, they have been winless since they opened the campaign with a victory over Catalyst Fr. Mathews. It has been six losses on the bounce for the Panthers. A win for the Laois side would bring them level with Liffey and could be a crucial kickstart to a strong Christmas period.
League leaders Killester suffered their first defeat of the season recently against Trinity, but have since regained their undefeated level of play with a cup win over Waterford and a 14-point triumph over Killarney the week before. This weekend, they will host McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles. Eagles have had a promising start to their life in the Domino's Women’s Super League with a record of 3-4 so far. A win for Cavan here could see them go level with teams as high as fifth, depending on other results. Killester’s head coach Mark Grennell is wary of the promoted side, but remains confident.
“Cavan have been a breath of fresh air this season. They have a great style of play with great Irish talent along with two classy Americans. We are looking forward to the challenge. We have been up and down recently within the games themselves, we are looking to set a higher standard throughout the games to try and reach the next level we believe is there” - Mark Grennell, Killester head coach
SETU Waterford Wildcats suffered a heavy loss to Killester last weekend in the Domino's WSL National Cup. But in a return to the Domino’s Women’s Super League, they have won two of their last three and sit in sixth. However, a win this weekend at home to the winless Catalyst Fr. Mathews would see them catapult themselves into possible title contention. Fr. Mathews have endured a tough season to date at the bottom of the table at 0-7. The Cork club will be looking to quickly shore up a defence that has given up almost 80 points per game so far. Both sides will be desperate to grab a win, but for very different reasons.
Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney have managed to work their way into title contention with two victories in their last three fixtures to get to a 5-2 record to stay on pace with the likes of Trinity and Brunell. The County Kerry outfit will hope to go a step further and close in on Killester when they host fifth-placed UCC Glanmire in Aura on Saturday. Glanmire have really found their feet after starting 0-2 this season, winning four of their last five. St. Paul's coach James Fleming is aware of the scale of challenge ahead this weekend.
“Looking forward to this weekend. Glanmire have been the benchmark for ladies basketball for decades. They are a great club with a great culture and have a super coach. They have been the form team over the past few weeks and their Irish players are beginning to gel. It is a good match up for both sides and hopefully we can get back to how we were performing like we were in October.” - James Fleming, Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney Head Coach.
Fixtures
Domino’s Men’s Super League
Saturday 13th December
Energywise Ireland Neptune v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, Neptune Stadium, 6:30pm
Limerick Celtics v Griffith College Éanna, UL Arena, 7pm
UCD Marian v St. Vincent’s, UCD Sports Centre, 7pm
Flexachem KCYMS v Ballincollig, Killorglin Sports Complex, 7:15pm
Killester v Belfast Star, IWA, 7:15pm
Sunday 14th December
UCC Demons v EJ Sligo All-Stars, Parocial Hall, 3pm
Domino’s Men’s Division One
Saturday 13th December
Ulster University v Limerick Sport Eagles, UUJ, 4:45pm
Team Northwest v Titans BC, ATU Donegal, 5pm
Malahide v Maree, Malahide Community School, 6:30pm
Templeogue v Maigh Cuilinn, TUD Tallaght, 7pm
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers v Dublin Lions, St. Mary’s Hall, 7pm
Carrick Cruisers v Tipp Talons, Phoenix Centre, 7:30pm
Moy Tolka Rovers v SPK Utility Trust Lakers, Tolka Rovers Sports Complex, 7:30pm
Killarney Cougars v Drogheda Wolves, Presentation Gym, 7:30pm
Domino’s Women’s Super League
Saturday 13th December
Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney v UCC Glanmire, Aura, 4pm
Killester v McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles, IWA, 5pm
Trinity Meteors v Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell, Colaiste Iosagain, 5:30pm
FloMAX Liffey Celtics v Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers, Leixlip Amenities Centre, 6pm
SETU Waterford Wildcats v Catalyst Fr. Mathews, Mercy College, 7pm
Domino’s Women’s Division One
Saturday 13th December
Moy Tolka Rovers v University of Galway Mystics, Tolka Rovers Sports Complex, 5pm
Swords Thunder v Limerick Sports Huskies, ALSAA, 5:30pm
Clunetech Kilkenny Stars v Dublin Raiders, O’Loughlin Gaels, 6pm
Sunday 14th December
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions v Limerick Celtics, Colaiste Bride, 3:30pm
