ABRAKEBABRA Tigers are top of the pile in basketball’s Southern Conference — but watch out for Limerick Lions, who are on a high after their seven-point weekend victory over Mardyke UCC Demons in Cork.

Roma St Vincent's 97 MDS Star 72

IT’S the game basketball has been talking about for weeks - the clash of the two best sides in the country as unbeaten DART Killester make the trip to Tralee to meet the Abrakebabra Tigers in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague tomorrow night.

SURPRISE away wins for Gleneagle Lakers and Limerick and the expected victory for Abrakebabra Tigers on Saturday night means that there are four teams from Irish Basketball’s Southern Conference through to the quarter finals of the National Cup, leaving the likes of MDS Star and UCD knocking on the back door for their places.

NEPTUNE coach Jim Nugent has a tough call this weekend when they travel to Belfast to play MDS Star in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

MARDYKE UCC DEMONS, the defending champions, will meet Neptune, last season’s beaten finalists, in the first round of the National Cup at the Mardyke Arena on the weekend of 20-21 November.

THE ESB Superleague finals will return to the spiritual home of Irish basketball next week in the plush surroundings of The Mardyke Arena, Cork's newest centre.

GLENEAGLE Lakers dragged themselves back from a mid-season crisis to claim second place in the ESB SuperLeague and earn a home draw against Hibernian UCD Marian in next week’s play-offs.

LIMERICK basketball fans were buzzing with anticipation this week following the arrival of Cleotis Brown to boost BurgerKing’s hopes of making the ESB SuperLeague play-offs.

Dart Killester came back from a 20-point deficit earlier this week to defeat MDS Star 79-72, but face another tough challenge when they travel to Neptune this weekend.