11890 Killester will be hoping to continue their excellent record against UL Eagles when the two sides meet in UL on Saturday night.
The Dubliners have already enjoyed league success over UL this season and ended their National Cup hopes at the semi final stage in January.
‘I have been very happy with what happened in the last two weeks particularly after losing the cup final,’ said Killester head coach Mark Keenan.
‘We know UL will be keen to take our scalp in their backyard,’ added Keenan. ‘After beating them in the cup especially, I know they will be up for the game. We have matched up against them really well this year; we played really strong defensively and managed to restrict their danger men.’
UL Eagles will be desperate to return to winning ways after suffering a surprise defeat at home to UCC Demons on Wednesday night.
The Eagles were favourites to claim the three points and wrap up the Southern Conference but met a Demons side determined to bounce back from their recent derby loss to Bord Gais Neptune.
‘A lot of people expected us to win on Wednesday but Demons have a phenomenal record in Irish basketball and are always capable of winning against anyone,’ said Eagles’ Welsh international Matt Hall.
Ulster Elks face a busy weekend with two games in as many days against play-off chasers UCC Demons and DCU Saints respectively.
Elks may be just playing for pride but they can have a major say on who reaches the all important knockout stages of the competition.
‘If we can bring the consistency that we as a team are capable of then it will be two very competitive fixtures,’ said Elks assistant coach Patrick O’Neill.
UCC Demons travel to Belfast in buoyant mood after claiming a stunning 85-78 win away to UL Eagles midweek.
‘On Monday evening we worked on two things that we didn’t do well enough against Neptune,’ said Demons head coach Paul Kelleher. ‘Our defensive rotation wasn't up to scratch and our offensive movement off the ball wasn’t good enough and we set out to rectify those issues. I didn’t expect a response as quickly as the lads produced against Eagles.
‘We came out fighting against UL,’ added Kelleher. ‘My concern is to wrap up second and to help us a step closer is to win against Elks at the weekend.’
DCU Saints’ form in 2011 has put them in pole position to qualify as the second best placed team in the Northern Conference but a recent meeting with Elks suggests they won’t be taking their opponents lightly on Sunday.
The Elks knows what it takes to beat the Saints after producing a superb display during the Christmas period to claim a 101-87 win.
DCU have a number of injury problems including Eoin Quill (who has yet to train this weekend), while Mark Nagle and Eanna Rutherford are also ruled out through injury.
Belfast Star head coach, Danny Fulton, knows his side cannot afford another slip-up this weekend as his side’s hopes of reaching the play-offs hang by a thread.
‘We will not be underestimating Moycullen,’ said Fulton. ‘At one stage in Belfast we led by about 20 and then suddenly it was down to five. Their American Mason Ambler got a lot of rebounds and they shot the ball well. I feel we have to win this to stay in the hunt for the play-offs.’
Moycullen may prop up the Southern Conference but their recent display against DCU Saints has offered encouragement to Head Coach Enda Byrt.
‘I was delighted with our performance last weekend,’ said Byrt. ‘We are starting to see some of the younger players improve and step up.
‘We really want to get a couple of wins under our belt between now and the end of the season. We managed to beat Star last season and I’m hopeful we can do it again this weekend.’
UCD Marian and Bord Gais Neptune, who both currently occupy third positions in the Northern and Southern Conferences respectively, face each other at the UCD Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Neptune will travel to the capital in confident mode after claiming bragging rights in the Cork derby in their last outing.
‘We are excited about our trip to Dublin to take on the cup champions,’ said Neptune head coach Pat Price. ‘It is a huge challenge for us, and a possible playoff preview. We intend on playing as hard and focused as we did in Saturday's win over Demons, and using that performance as a template as we head down the stretch.’
UCD Marian ensured their cup hangover didn’t last too long after they emerged from their tricky assignment away to Belfast Star with maximum points in their last encounter.
‘Neptune appear to be on a good role at present and are hunting for a home court quarter-final game,’ said UCD Head Coach Fran Ryan.
‘We are on our home court and knowing what is at stake for us regarding the quarter-final spot I expect our guys to be very focused which might be just good enough.’
In the IrishSport.TV Women’s SuperLeague, UL will be looking for their seventh consecutive league win away to Waterford Wildcats, DCU Mercy make the short trip to 11890 Killester and Meteors make the difficult trip to Team Montenotte Hotel Cork.
UL are showing title credentials at the moment after a run of seven consecutive league wins and they will favourites to continue that form away to Waterford Wildcats on Saturday night.
‘Waterford put up 60 points against DCU, which is something we haven’t done too many times, so we certainly won’t be taking them lightly,’ said UL head coach James Weldon. ‘They are always tough at home, Kate Maher is a huge addition to their side and in Sinead Deegan, they boast the best young guard in the country.’
DCU Mercy will be looking to notch up another on the road when they make the short trip to Clontarf to face 11890 Killester.
‘They had a good start against us in the cup so we will be ready for them this weekend,’ said Mercy head coach Mark Ingle. ‘It’s an intense Dublin rivalry and it should be another entertaining game on Saturday.
Team Montenotte are on the back of three defeats but will be expected to rectify that at home to Meteors on Saturday.
‘We were poor on Saturday against UL,’ said Montenotte head coach Mark Scannell. ‘They were very good. Any team that has Michelle Fahy, Rachel Vanderwal and Natalie Taylor is very serious.’
