UCC DEMONS return to the revamped Mardyke Arena on Sunday (3.30pm) but 11890 Killester, the defending Nivea for Men SuperLeague champions, can expect anything but a warm welcome.

DERBY games can be everything, close, tight, exciting but last night’s clash between UCC Demons and Bord Gáis Neptune was all about one side — Demons — and one can only wonder how much importance should be attached to the scoreline and the result, heading towards the business end of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

EVERY sport has a major rivalry, be it Cork-Kerry or Dublin-Meath in Gaelic football or Munster-Leinster in rugby but the Bord Gáis Neptune versus UCC Demons clash in basketball is up there with them (7pm tonight, Neptune Stadium).

BORD Gáis Neptune coach Mark Scannell set his side a target of 80 points against defending champions 11890 Killester in yesterday’s Nivea for Men SuperLeague clash at Neptune Stadium and, while they did not achieve that, a close 73-72 victory was more than satisfactory.

TOMORROW night’s Dublin derby at Clontarf has all the ingredients for a thrilling encounter as joint leaders, 11890 Killester, take on Northside rivals, DCU Saints, for control of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

KILLESTER ended Bord Gais Neptune’s unbeaten run in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague when they defeated the Cork side 68-64 at the Neptune Stadium yesterday.

MARK SCANNELL has been through derby games as a player and a coach and is the first to admit there will be very little between the sides when Bord Gáis Neptune and UCC Demons clash in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague at Neptune Stadium tonight.

THERE were perfect results for new coaches, Darren O’Neill and Mark Scannell, as the reigning NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague champions, 11890 Killester, Bord Gais Neptune, got the new basketball season under way.

KILLESTER retained their Nivea for Men Superleague title following a classic final win over Bord Gáis Neptune at the National Basketball Arena yesterday.

BELFAST Start coach Danny Fulton has grown accustomed to shredding the form book.

UCC DEMONS may have to plan without influential captain Shane Coughlan for Sunday’s NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague play-off with Belfast Star at the Mardyke Arena.

REVENGE will be in the air at the IWA Centre, Clontarf tomorrow as Cup champions UCD Marian face defeated finalists 11890 Killester in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague.

LEINSTER Rugby chiefs are ‘monitoring’ the weather conditions sweeping across the country but are confident this evening’s Heineken Cup game against Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium (5.45pm) will not be impacted by the cold snap.

11890 KILLESTER will leave their NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague opponents with plenty of food for thought over the Festive season after a perfect campaign up to now in defence of the title.

THERE is a familiar look about the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague table as the halfway point of the season approaches.

AFTER last weekend’s sickening loss to UL Eagles in the quarter-final of the National Cup, UCC Demons coach Paul Kelleher will be hoping for a massive turnaround when they return to the UL Arena tomorrow night for a NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague assignment.

UCC DEMONS are next in line to attempt to break 11890 Killester’s stranglehold on the Nivea for Men Superleague, but they will have to do it without the services of Niall O’Reilly when they host the defending champions at The Mardyke Arena on Sunday.

11890 Killester are the only unbeaten side in the NIVEA For MEN SuperLeague after a 93-81 win over UL Eagles at Clontarf on Saturday night.

UL EAGLES reversed their recent SuperLeague result to end the National Cup hopes of Bord Gais Neptune on Saturday, while 11890 Killester are just two games away from retaining the title after an emphatic victory over Moycullen in their quarter-final clash.

UL EAGLES travel to Cork tomorrow for a clash with Bord Gáis Neptune in a crucial Nivea for Men SuperLeague game at the Neptune Stadium (7pm).

BORD GÁIS Neptune coach, Pat Price, is planning without their 6’7” power forward, Robinson Louisme, for their big NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague clash with UL Eagles at Neptune Stadium on Sunday (3pm).

THE Nivea for Men SuperLeague comes to a conclusion today with Limerick side UL Eagles going head-to-head with National Cup champions Killester at the National Basketball Arena.

CORK rivals, UCC Demons and NEH Neptune, will play at each end of the country this weekend but they will be drawn together in a fierce battle for second place in the Southern Conference as the Nivea for Men SuperLeague goes into the final series before the play-offs.

UL EAGLES, with the Southern Conference title all wrapped up, will host Belfast Star this weekend in advance of the upcoming NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague play-offs.

NEH NEPTUNE coach, Pat Price, has appealed to referees to “sit up and take notice” of the physicality being directed at their American player, Juwann James.

ULSTER ELKS may be propping up the Northern Division table but they brought off the shock of the weekend when they beat UL Eagles 91-89 in a dramatic Nivea for Men SuperLeague clash after taking the game into overtime.

NEPTUNE STADIUM, the arena that revolutionised Irish basketball and which is, to many, still the spiritual home of the game on this island, is 25 years old this weekend and it is fitting that the home team should host their long-time arch rivals, DCU Saints, in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague to tip off the celebrations this afternoon (4 pm).

FOLLOWING back-to-back losses to Killester in the cup and SuperLeague Coach Tony Hehir wants UL Eagles to refocus on the target which is now the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague.

TOMORROW is Super Saturday for Irish basketball’s SuperLeague clubs, with the quarter-finals of the men’s National Cup throwing up interesting pairings.

NEPTUNE face an interesting scenario when they travel to Greendale tomorrow night to play HOOPS in the NIVEA for MEN Superleague.

AFTER their thrilling derby game on Friday night at The Mardyke Arena, UCC Demons and National Event Hire Neptune go their separate ways this weekend with the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague champions heading to Jordanstown and Neptune make their first trip to Moycullen.

CORK derby games in particular are special but last night’s NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague thriller between UCC Demons and National Event Hire Neptune went beyond all the boundaries for excitement, drama and then a nailbiting finish.

MICHAEL McGINN went over on his ankle in practice on Wednesday night, leaving new coach Pat Price facing the possibility of sending out National Event Hire/Neptune, without their captain for tonight’s crucial derby game against UCC Demons at The Mardyke Arena (8 pm).

DEFENDING champions, UCC Demons, had to come from behind to defeat UCD/Marian and keep their early season record intact as the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague as UL Eagles beat the other Cork team, Neptune for a third successive win.

THE curtain has come down on top-level basketball in Kerry after Abrakebabra Tigers Tralee withdrew from the Nivea for Men SuperLeague for the coming season.

THE first leg of the semi-finals in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague provided a mild shock for UCC Demons who had to settle for a draw (78-78) at the end of a storming come-back by UCD Marian at Belfield but there was no such problem for the other favourites, DART Killester, who overwhelmed Neptune (85-63) at Neptune Stadium.

NEPTUNE will have a hot reception arranged for DART Killester when they host the first leg of their NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague semi-final at Neptune Stadium tomorrow night.

WHEN the pennants hung from the roof of Neptune Stadium they spelled out the history of Irish basketball but, those days, the team that once ruled the roost survives on memories.

LIMERICK LIONS stunned Belfast Star on Saturday night to put themselves in line for a place in the play-off stages of the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague to the detriment of defending champions, Abrakebabra Tigers, who earned an away win over Ulster Elks.

UCC DEMONS and DART Killester were always favourites to get through to the final of the Men’s SuperLeague National Cup but after exhaustive efforts getting there, they’ll tread warily as they resume NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague duties.

IT MAY be just the halfway point of the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague but tomorrow afternoon’s derby game between Neptune and UCD Demons at Neptune Stadium (3pm) is among the biggest games of the season.

KIERAN O’BRIEN will return to the nursery where he learned his trade tomorrow night when high-flying DART Killester put their unbeaten NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague record on the line at Neptune Stadium.

DART KILLESTER are now the only unbeaten team in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague after beating title rivals UCC Demons 98-86 in the cross-conference game at the IWA, Clontarf, on Saturday night.