Basketball Ireland weekly preview

UL Eagles will be looking to maintaining their winning streak in the Nivea For Men's Superleague when they host Ulster Elks on Saturday.

Killester and UCC Demons, both holding 100% records, face Dublin opposition in the shape of UCD/Marian and HOOPS respectively. Belfast Star will be looking to bounce back at home to Neptune, while DCU Saints entertain Moycullen.

UL Eagles are sweating over the fitness of Stuart Robbins, who is struggling with a foot injury, while Matt Hall also faces a race to be fit in time for the visit of Elks.

'Ulster Elks have had a tough start but on paper they have some of the best individual players around,' said UL Head Coach Tony Hehir. 'They haven't picked up a win yet but they have been improving in recent weeks and this will definitely be one of the toughest game we have faced this season.

'We are very pleased with our start,' he added. 'We emerged from a tough game away to UCD last weekend and I was particularly pleased with the professionalism in seeing out the result in the end.'

For Ulster Elks, the game marks another opportunity to put a halt to their miserable run of four games without a win.

'Games on the road are already tough to win and we are heading to a Limerick team that is unbeaten,' said Elks Head Coach Deirdre Brennan. 'We are nevertheless moving in the right direction and our performance as a team is getting better every time we play and practice. Its time we started to win and the players know that so we will be going to Limerick with that intention in mind.'

UCC Demons are expected to welcome back Niall Murphy for their clash at home to winless HOOPS on Sunday.

'We expect a very tough game this weekend from Hoops who will be a team all fired up looking for their first win of the season,' said Demons Head Coach Luke D'Alessio. 'We as a team will not allow any complacency as we continue to take one game at a time. I have no doubt they will certainly be bringing their A game to our home court in what should be a great game.

'I was very encouraged by the way our team played their way back into the game last weekend and played to the final whistle to carve out a good result. We must be prepared to come and play from the start & tighten up our tough defense and play a smart offense to ensure we maintain our winning run. It will be necessary to contain their inside threat of Carlton Aaron and their outside threat of Phil Taylor & Ian Wilson.'

HOOPS' hopes of victory have been bolstered by the return of Eoin Chubb and Joey Haastrup from injury.

'We have to cut down our mistakes,' said HOOPS Head Coach Ahmad Smith. 'Cork is a tough place to emerge with a win but there is a lot of pressure to get that first win.

'Nobody wants four successive defeats on the record but its early days and we can draw some inspiration from Tralee last season, who started badly, but then went on to reach the semi finals of the cup and also have a decent end to their league season,' he added.

DCU Saints are enjoying a good run of form and will prove tough opponents for a Moycullen side still settling in the top flight of Irish basketball.

'We are pleased with how it's going so far but we've had a lot of home games and obviously we need to get as many wins as possible in DCU before heading out on the road for November & December,' said Saints' Irish international Emmet Donnelly.

'The schedule has been a bit peculiar so I think it'll be the end of November before we can read anything into the conference tables. Having said that we do feel we started to click the last few games and we want to continue the streak. Looking to the weekend we will certainly be taking nothing for granted against Moycullen. We know we have to be up for every game to give ourselves a chance to win.'

Saints are worrying over the fitness of James Donnelly (ankle injury), while Moycullen are expected to be at full strength.

Neptune will be hoping to build on their opening win of the season last weekend when they make the long trek to Belfast Star.

'It is always a challenging trip to Belfast, and Sunday evening's match at Star will be no different,' said Neptune Head Coach Pat Price. 'We will look to our defense again to neutralize Phillip Perre and the veteran Scott Summersgill. Perre has a knack for getting to the free throw line, and we must contain his driving ability without fouling.

'We are delighted with the balanced contributions in the last two games, and the development of our younger players is both exciting and necessary. If we can defend and rebound well Sunday, we will give ourselves a chance in a difficult road match.'

Belfast Star suffered a blip in their last encounter away to DCU Saints but welcome back Matthew McKillop ahead of this tricky assignment.

UCD/Marian are worrying over the availability of Conor Meany (foot injury) and Luke McCrone (ankle injury) as they prepare to host unbeaten Killester.

Killester hold a 100% win record after five games and even more ominous for their opponents they have a full strength squad for Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the IrishSport.TV Women's Superleague, Tolka Rovers make the trip to reigning champions Team Montenotte Hotel Cork, while DCU Mercy are set to face newcomers Sligo All-Stars.

In form duo UL and Killester are both set for trips on the road away to Bausch & Lomb Waterford Wildcats and Meteors respectively.

Team Montenotte's Irish international Niamh Dwyer believes the newcomers in the side are already making a serious impact.

'We have made a very positive start,' said Dwyer. 'There is no complacency in the squad and that is largely down to the new faces in the team who are determined to make an impact early on.'

DCU Mercy got off the mark last weekend at home to Meteors but their vastly experienced Guard Lindsey Peat is cautious of the newcomers.

'We got a great win against Meteors but we are going to be wary of a Sligo side who will be hurting after their opening two defeats,' said Peat.