C&S UCC Demons saw their 27-game winning streak come to an end as Templeogue beat the reigning Men’s Premier League Champions 97-87 on the opening day of the Basketball Ireland National League.
The sides last met in the Champions Trophy final in March, but Templeogue were a different proposition in front of a packed house at the Oblate Hall.
“We looked at that game in Galway and felt we let that one go,” said head coach Mark Keenan. “We believed that if we did got it right, we had the personnel to stop them and do the job for us.”
Paul Cummins marked his return to the National League with a 31-point performance.
Demon’s Point Guard Kyle Hosford conceded the better team won: “They seemed stronger and more prepared. When it came down to the fourth they ran their sets and we seemed out of sorts. Now we’re chasing something.”
There were also wins on the opening weekend for Pyrobel Killester, UL Eagles, GCD Swords Thunder and UCD Marian.
Team Montenotte Hotel opened the defence of their Women’s Premier League title with a 77-48 win at home to UL Huskies. The champions opened with a 29-0 quarter and maintained control for the 40 minutes.
“Overall I was pleased,” said Head Coach Mark Scannell. “They’ll [UL Huskies] certainly get better and their American was very good. We rotated well and everybody contributed.”
Pyrobel Killester beat Courtyard Liffey Celtics in a high-scoring encounter at the Irish Wheelchair Association. “I think both teams will have some questions defensively,” said Celtics’ Suzanne Maguire. “We had a hard time dealing with one-on-one defence and Killester’s pressure in the second half threw us out of whack.”
Elsewhere Meteors and DCU Mercy secured away wins against Singleton SUperValu Brunell and Maxol WIT Wildcats respectively.
Results:
WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE
Maxol WIT Wildcats 54, DCU Mercy 73; Pyrobel Killester 89, Courtyard Liffey Celtics 80; Team Montenotte Hotel 77, UL Huskies 48; Singleton SuperValu Brunell 59, Meteors 78.
MEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE
Templeogue 97, C&S UCC Demons 87; UL Eagles 74, DCU Saints 57; Pyrobel Killester 72, SSE Airtricity Moycullen 64; Eanna 92, GCD Swords Thunder 103; UCD Marian 65, Belfast Star 58
WOMEN'S DIVISION ONE:
Fr Mathews 67, Longford Falcons 50; NUIG Mystics 62, Longford Falcons 34; Oblate Dynamos 62, Ulster Rockets 70; ITC Basketball 46, Team Garvey’s Tralee 51.
MEN'S DIVISION ONE
Kestrels 59, Maree 76; JM&L Auctioneers Titans 63, KUBS 84; BFG Neptune 81, Fr Mathews 88; Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin 82, ITC Basketball 70; C&S Blue Demons 100, Team Kilkenny 82.
