The latest series of Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague fixtures saw a number of teams finally record their first wins of the season.
UU (University of Ulster) ended a miserable losing run with 14 points to spare over Hoops in Jordanstown, while UCD/Marian topped off an excellent week by overcoming a DCU Saints desperately looking to get their season back on track.
On Friday, Abrakebabra Tigers were comfortable winners over Limerick Lions with Neptune easily brushing aside the challenge of Merry Monk Ballina on Saturday.
On Sunday, four sides faced their second game of the weekend with Abrakebabra Tigers claiming a 111-91 win over UCD/Marian, while Limerick Lions bounced back from their defeat to Tigers to overcome Merry Monk Ballina by three points (86-83).
UU ended their losing sequence in emphatic fashion with a 105-91 win over Cup semi-finalists Hoops on Saturday in Jordanstown.
Bryan Niemen and Gareth played a huge part in the win with 34 points and 18 points respectively, while Ian O'Boyle's tally of 27 points was unable to save the visitor’s from defeat.
Hoops booked their place in the semi-finals of the National Cup with a famous win away to UCC Demons but were always playing catch up against a UU side who had built up a 49-34 lead at the interval.
'We are absolutely delighted to get off the mark,' said UU captain Andy O'Hare. 'It's particularly pleasing because it came against quality opposition. They had a great win last week against Demons so we are delighted to have come out on top.
'We knew we weren’t too far away from opening our account and we showed in games against the likes of DART Killester and Belfast Star that we more than capable of challenging in this division. Hopefully, this will mark the start of a bright period for us and we can put some more points on the board.'
UCD/Marian carried on from their heroics against Limerick Lions in the cup last week to record a slender 101-99 win over DCU Saints at the DCU Sports Complex.
The sides were set for a mammoth final quarter with the sides on level terms at 80-80 but it was the resurgent UCD/Marian who held their nerve to claim maximum points.
DCU Saints desperately tried to claw back a deficit in the final quarter but Peter Finn’s final basket of the night wrapped up the win for UCD.
'It's been a great week and we are pleased to have come through against a side many people will tip for the major honours this season,' said UCD/Marian manager Thomas Tracey.
After building up a 25 point lead at the interval (50-25), Abrakebabra Tigers never look like relinquishing the points against Limerick Lions at the Tralee Sports Complex.
Tigers continued their dominance from the first quarter into the second with Paris Katsimpas opening with a three pointer before baskets from CJ Hadley, Michael Quirke and Katsimpas extending their lead to 15 points. Recent recruit Jennar Harrison restored some hope for the visitor’s but further baskets from Hadley and Kieran Donaghy left no way back for Matt Hall's Lions.
Lions reduced the deficit to 17 points in the early stages of the third but Tigers managed to sustain their pressure with three pointers from Katsimpas and Jordon the pick of the remaining scores.
Harrison showed his worth to Limerick cause with 13 points in the final quarter but it was unable to prevent a 90-62 win for home side.
Neptune coach Shane Horgan started his reign in the hot-seat with a much needed 113-89 win over Merry Monk Ballina.
The Westerners made the trip to Cork without the services of American Jermaine Turner, who left the club earlier in the week.
Neptune Centre Matt Gorman took full advantage of his size and strength in the first quarter, powering his way to 12 points. Neptune's size advantage on the boards also told, as solid defensive rebounding lead to some easy fast break scores. R
onan McGarrity was the only player who appeared to be able to do much damage against Neptune's long arms and ability to protect the rim. He managed 6 in the first period, but his side still trailed 32 - 15 at the end of the first quarter.
Neptune kept up the offensive barrage in the second quarter. Gorman continued to punish the visitors inside, and buried a three for good measure, on his way to 23 first half points.
Ballina's American guard Puff Summers, who caused all sorts of problems for Neptune on his first visit to the Stadium, began to do some damage in the lane. He managed 9 in the quarter, 5 of them from the free throw line, but Neptune's swarming defence caused too many problems for Ballina, and the offense broke down again and again.
Ballina managed to produce an improved third quarter but it was too little too late and Neptune ran out comfortable 24 point winners.
DART Killester capitalised on their nearest challengers poor weekend to record a 93-80 win over Belfast Star and continue their excellent run of late.
Michael Bonaparte and Arnoud Dahi provided 52 points while Bob Malcolm led a brave Star challenge with 24 points.
Meanwhile, in Basketball Ireland’s Women's SuperLeague, Team Montenotte Hotel were victors in their top of the table clash with UL Aughinish, while Tolka Rovers earned their first win of the season away to DART Killester.
Team Montenotte maintained their unbeaten run with a 65-60 win over UL Aughinish in a titanic battle at the UL Arena. Mark Scannell's Montenotte charges held a slender five point advantage at the interval and went on to win the contest by the same margin.
Jennifer Strong continued her excellent performances with a tally of 26 points, with Irish international duo, Niamh Dwyer (13 points) and Marie Breen (12 points), were also in fine shooting form.
