The closing weekend of the National Basketball Championships will begin this evening with the men’s Champions Trophy semi-finals at Neptune Stadium.

Men’s Division 1 National Cup winners Titans produced the shock of the decade when they defeated Premier outfit Bord Gáis Neptune in the quarter-final of the Champions Trophy.

The Women’s Premier League semi-final clash between Team Montenotte and DCU Mercy on Sunday is sure to capture the imagination of basketball fans in the capital.

Killester were crowned Men’s Premier League champions after a comfortable 63-44 win over Bord Gais Neptune at Upper Glanmire yesterday.

Killester will be crowned men’s Premier League champions if they beat UL Eagles tomorrow and Bord Gáis Neptune on Sunday.

C&S UCC Demons will be hoping to complete a men’s Premier League and cup double when they clash with Killester at the Mardyke on Sunday (3.30pm).

UCC Demons and Killester will battle it out for the Premier Men’s League title next Sunday after their Dublin double header wins over Templeogue and DCU Saints.

This is one of the most crucial weekends in the men’s Premier League with joint leaders C&S UCC Demons and Killester still on track for the title showdown on March 2 at the Mardyke Arena.

UL Huskies secured the regular season in the Women’s Premier League with a hard-earned 71-64 win over DCU Mercy at the UL Arena.

Defending Premier Women’s champions UL Huskies will be eager to seal the regular season trophy when they host DCU Mercy at the UL Arena tomorrow.

Killester will be hoping to stay in touch with C&S UCC Demons when they host Dublin rivals DCU Saints in the Men’s Premier League at Clontarf tomorrow.

UCC Demons warmed up for Friday’s National Cup final against Dublin Inter with an impressive 80-73 win over UL Eagles in the men’s Premier League.

It’s almost 13 years since a basketball club was founded in the Carlow village of Ballon to cater for recreational female players aged 30 or over.

UCC Demons ended their Belfield hoodoo in style by trouncing UCD Marian 104-64 in the men’s Premier League on Saturday.

UCC Demons player coach Colin O’Reilly and his team will be on full alert to maintain their 100% unbeaten record in the Mens Premier League when they travel to Belfield tomorrow to play UCD Marian.

UL Eagles coach Mark Keenan was left bitterly disappointed after his side went down 100-88 to Killester in a highly entertaining Premier Men’s league clash at the UL Arena.

UL Eagles coach Mark Keenan says revenge won’t be a motivating factor in tomorrow’s clash against former club Killester.

Team Montenotte coach Paul Kelleher is hoping his side can maintain their recent rich vein of form in the Women’s Premier League when they entertain Killester at Upper Glanmire tomorrow.

UCC Demons produced a stunning fourth quarter performance to defeat Killester 77-72 in a pulsating top of the table men’s Premier League clash at Clontarf on Saturday.

They are both on a seven-game unbeaten run in the Men’s Premier League and tomorrow Killester and UCC Demons will do battle to take pole position heading into the Christmas break.

Bord Gáis Neptune produced their best performance of the season defeating DCU Saints 95-87 in a thrilling Men’s Premier National Cup quarter-final at the Neptune Stadium.

Shane Coughlan snatched a sensational late three-pointer as UCC Demons somehow denied UCD Marian a place in the Premier men’s National Cup semi-final despite losing their second leg by 30 points.

Killester will be taking nothing for granted when they travel North tomorrow for a clash with Belfast Star in the men’s Premier National Cup first round second leg clash.

C & S UCC Demons 101 Bord Gais Neptune 77

Killester remain unbeaten in the Men’s Premier League following a comfortable 88-76 win over Bord Gáis Neptune on Saturday.

Killester will be hoping to keep their unbeaten record intact when they entertain fellow unbeaten Premier League side Bord Gáis Neptune at Clontarf tomorrow.

UCC Demons player coach Colin O’Reilly had mixed emotions after guiding his team to a hard-earned 77-75 win over the champions UL Eagles in the Men’s Premier League.

Sixty-nine minutes had passed in the All-Ireland semi-final between Dublin and Kerry when Michael Darragh Maculey launched himself at a breaking ball in midfield with a move more akin to one seen in basketball.

New formats, new names, new teams.

SuperLeague basketball is dead. Long live Basketball Ireland Premier League. Basketball Ireland is expanding the top league from eight to 10 teams with Templeogue of Dublin and Belfast Star joining the top flight for the 2013/14 campaign.

Tonight

When you have played at SuperLeague level for 15 years and are contemplating retirement a bit of silverware would be the ideal way to finish your career.

Changing times on Ireland’s basketball scene. The final four Champions Trophy spots for the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague have been settled and there will be no Killester or UCD Marian in the shake up.

They should have spent the week celebrating. Basking in the glory of securing the league. Letting off steam ahead of the Champions Trophy.

You know the line: “We’re just concentrating on our own game...”

Everything else tends to suffer by comparison in Cork when SuperLeague pride is at stake between UCC Demons and Neptune.

A superb performance from UL Eagles star guard Rob Taylor helped his team to a crucial win in their top of the table Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague clash with UCC Demons.

It was a shock when they beat UCC Demons in the cup semi-final.

Team Montenotte’s Croatian star Tomica Bacic has revealed how watching the Olympics reinvigorated her love for the game of basketball and inspired her to continue with her career.

Cup fever grips the basketball fraternity in Ireland this weekend and for those taking part — it’s a rare opportunity to showcase their talents under an intense media glare.

Who’s going to blink first? That’s got to be the question both UL Eagles and UCC Demons are asking as they face into another pivotal weekend in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

The Cork version of the Montagues and Capulets erupts again tonight.

There will not be an empty seat tonight at the Neptune Stadium when Bord Gais Neptune and UCC Demons clash in the Men’s SuperLeague National cup semi-final.

It’s a 46-year intense rivalry that has made UCC Demons and Bord Gais Neptune one of the most spectacular games on the Irish basketball calendar.

Two of the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague powerhouses will go head to head tomorrow as last season’s league finalists, DCU Saints and UL Eagles, meet at DCU (7pm).

UL continue to show just why they have become the dominant force in Irish basketball — their men’s and women’s teams are both defending league and cup champions and at the weekend they showed why by handing out 20- and 44-point beatings, respectively, to their cup rivals.

DCU Saints 72 UCC Demons 81

UCC Demons continue to set the pace in the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague, notching their sixth consecutive win of the season with victory over Killester yesterday.

UCC Demons may be protecting a 100% start to the Nivea For Men SuperLeague when they host Killester at the Mardyke Arena in Cork on Sunday but coach Paul Kelleher is adamant his side have plenty of room for improvement.

Bord Gais Neptune 72 UCC Demons 74