EJ Sligo All-Stars kept themselves very much in the reckoning for a playoff berth in Domino's Men’s Super League after they prevailed 122-115 in an epic showdown with Belfast Star that went to double overtime in Newforge Sports Complex on Saturday night.
Jonathan Brown hit a huge three for the visitors with 20 seconds remaining to force a second period of overtime, during which Thomas Child and Robert Montgomery combined for 13 to help see Sligo over the line, the latter taking his tally to 40 by the final buzzer.
Maximillian Cooper and De Ondre Jackson were among the big hitters for Star, with a combined 57, but even that was not enough to prevent Belfast slipping just outside the playoff spots with one game remaining.
"We've known all season that performances like that one are possible" insisted Shane O’Meara, EJ Sligo All-Stars head coach.
"We’ve been dealt so many hard blows through injuries and close losses, but all that matters now are the next two games and making the playoffs.
"Huge credit tonight to Sean Snee who came up big with huge defensive plays. Rob's 40 points and 16 rebounds was one of the best performances I've seen this season" he remarked.
While Bright St. Vincent’s took a huge step towards survival in the top tier following their 99-80 road win over Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU on Saturday evening, they were unable to complete the job on Sunday, as they lost out to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 95-83 at MTU Kerry.
A big third-quarter display by the hosts, saw them turn a three-point half-time deficit into a ten-point lead and they managed to keep their Dublin rivals at bay throughout the fourth, thanks in no small measure to the 48 points that Marquavian Stephens and Daniel Jokubaitis accumulated on the day.
Energywise Ireland Neptune kept their prospects of playoff qualification very much in their own hands after they ran out 96-64 winners over Maree in Neptune Stadium, Chancellor Hunter contributing 18 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to help address the game-high 32 points that Joshua McGettigan put up for the Galway side.
Flexachem remain clinging to some hope of a place in the playoffs after they edged regular season winners UCC Demons 98-95 in Killorglin Sports Complex, Jordan Blount carding a triple double for the hosts with 30 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Defending champions, Griffith College Éanna enjoyed a 98-85 success at home to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, Tyland Crawford emerging the game’s top scorer on 28 points.
Even a massive 45-point haul by Samuel Henderson in Clontarf on Saturday night could not stop Killester recording a 102-88 home win over Templeogue, whose hopes of survival remain hanging by a thread. Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher each put up 25 for the hosts.
In Domino's Women’s Super League, Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers returned home from Coláiste Íosagáin celebrating a 74-68 victory over Trinity Meteors and, with it, a spot in this season’s playoffs.
The Laois side edged every quarter, as Jessica Fressle again spearheaded their offence with a game-high 29 points, while Alyssa Velles and Lynn Tunnah combined for an additional 30.
The same three players, together with Ireland senior international, Amy Dooley, accounted for a total of 40 rebounds, all but nine of them off the defensive board.
"The girls are performing to the level we expected at the start of the season" remarked Peter O’Sullivan, Portlaoise head coach.
"They’ve played the way we’ve asked them to and it has got them to the playoffs. We’re in a strong position now" he insisted.
Killester preserved their hopes of pipping FloMAX Liffey Celtics to second place in the table after they recorded a convincing 88-64 victory away to their Leixlip rivals on Saturday night, subsequently exacting some measure of revenge for their Paudie O’Connor National Cup Final heartbreak in January.
Michelle Clarke was in sensational form for the visitors, draining six of her eight attempts off the arc to take her tally to 31 on the night, an impressive return that was bolstered by the combined 30 that Destiny Strother and Samantha Haiby served up.
While it closes the gap on their Kildare rivals to six points, Killester still need to win their remaining two games and hope that Celtics slip up again when The Address UCC Glanmire pay them a visit for their final regular season fixture next Saturday.
"The obvious was Mimi Clarke’s incredible individual performance tonight, but we also got contributions from all over" said Mark Grennell, Killester head coach.
"Our effort and work rate again were the stand out for me. We probably needed the win a bit more than them and we took advantage of that" he added.
Regular season winners SETU Waterford Wildcats were not about to take their foot off the gas against play-off hopefuls Utility Trust St. Paul’s, inflicting a second successive reversal on the Kerry side as they ran out 65-50 winners in Mercy College.
While Alexandra Wittinger carded a game-high 22 points, along with 16 rebounds for the visitors, it was not enough to take down a Waterford side, for whom Kate Hickey put up 20 points, with her sister, Sarah and Chelsea Cain immense under the boards, as they mopped up a massive 40 rebounds between them.
This loss for St. Paul’s sets up a decisive battle with Catalyst Fr. Mathews for the one remaining playoff berth next Saturday, after the Cork side, themselves, lost out 88-69 in their derby at home to Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell.
Deaja Richardson proved Brunell’s most prolific performer, with 24 points and seven boards, while Trinity Hudson and Edel Thornton teamed up for an additional 30 points for the visitors.
A big first-half performance paved the way for The Address UCC Glanmire’s 84-39 victory over University of Galway Mystics in Ballinfoyle Community Centre, the Cork side reaching full-time with five players in double digits, including Annaliese Murphy on 14, with Sinead O’Reilly and Claire O’Sullivan each on 10 rebounds.
