11890 Killester edged past DCU Saints in their latest Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague clash, while UCD/Marian and Ulster Elks recorded their first wins after fine performances against Cork duo UCC Demons and Bord Gais Neptune respectively.
Moycullen are still awaiting their first three points after suffering defeat to Bord Gais Neptune in Friday’s sole SuperLeague clash.
11890 Killester maintained their winning start to the season with a 79-74 win over DCU Saints and typically it was a close call against their dogged Dublin rivals.
Killester were boosted by the return of Kieran O’Brien after a lengthy lay-off through injury and he was to have an impact as Mark Keenan’s charges edged the win.
The sides were tied at 72-72 with two minutes remaining but points from O’Brien, Paddy Kelly and Isaac Westbrooks secured their second successive win.
11890 Killester Head Coach Mark Keenan was relieved his side emerged with maximum points.
'It was a very frustrating game,' said Keenan.
'I am not happy with the performance but happy we got the win. It was a typical Dublin derby. There was plenty of passion and intensity and thankfully we came out with the points.'
UCD Marian Head Coach, Fran Ryan, hailed his side after they recorded a rare win over UCC Demons courtesy of an 96-91 win.
The result marks an encouraging start to the season and follows on from their positive opening day display against last season’s beaten finalists UL Eagles.
'It is a good number of years since we last beat Demons,' said Ryan.
'It takes the pressure off us to get that first win. This result isn’t out of the blue. We put in a good display against UL last weekend, a side I believe will be challenging for the major honours again this season.
'The standard of this game was extremely positive and the fact we put up 96 points against UCC Demons is very encouraging.'
'They are working extremely hard, training 3 to 4 times a week. We have very high fitness standards. They are improving all the time and this is a big step beating a side like Demons.'
A tight contest was settled in the closing stages courtesy of three pointers from Conor Meaney and Michael Higgins. Another highlight was the performance of Demons’ Marcus Van, who entertained the attendance with five dunks in the second half.
On Sunday, Ulster Elks produced a high scoring display to end Bord Gais Neptune’s winning run courtesy of a healthy 95-79 win in Jordanstown.
Kevin Foley tormented the visitor’s, eventually finishing up on 35 points and Head Coach Deirdre Brennan hailed the impact made by the Dubliner.
'It was a great team performance,' said Brennan.
'Kevin put in a magnificent display. He played very sensibly and when he is in that sort of form he is a difficult player to match.
'I am very pleased we held on to our advantage comfortably which was probably unlike what we have done in previous seasons,' she added.
'We had some great performances across the board from the likes of Ciaran McEvilly, Paddy McGaharan and Barry Drumm. I was disappointed with the way we lost our opening game away to UCC Demons but this result gives us something to build on now.'
On Friday, Bord Gais Neptune enjoyed a more positive evening after inflicting an 85-76 defeat on Moycullen despite a late comeback from the Westerners, a revival which was greatly inspired by Stephen Tummon.
The Cork side appeared to be in complete control when their lead stretched to 20 points in the third quarter but foul trouble for Ger Noonan and Robinson Louisme was to stifle their flow.
Tummon, Mason Ambler and the impressive Cian Nihill combined to reduce the margin to just six points with three minutes remaining but the home side, through the scoring of Gary Walsh, Noonan and Louisme, held out to claim the three points.
