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.

WITH their defence of the national cup on course, UCC Demons will concentrate on getting their Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague campaign back on track when they travel to Dublin tomorrow evening to play Killester.

SOME old faces will be missing from the scene with the addition of some promising newcomers when the basketball’s Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague gets underway tonight.

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.

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.

WITH the National Cup and Southern Conference titles all wrapped up, UCC Demons will continue their relentless pursuit of the treble when they turn their attentions to Limerick Lions in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

ST MARY’S, Castleisland basketball club will be doubly engaged at the National Basketball Arena over the weekend with two teams chasing their first National Cup title.

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.

Abrakebabra Tigers have claimed victory in the battle of the unbeaten sides with an impressive win away to Dublin giants DCU Saints on Saturday night.

REIGNING Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague champions DART Killester were stunned by Belfast Star at the weekend, while DCU Saints produced a fine comeback to beat a brave UCD/Marian yesterday to continue their excellent start to the season.

PLAY-OFF wins for UCC Demons over Shamrock Rovers Hoops and Merry Monk Ballina over Mustang Sallys/St Paul’s have cleared the way for an exciting weekend of basketball at the UL Arena.

WITH a new air of excitement at the top of the conference tables, teams will be hoping to improve their positions this weekend in time for the Nivea for Men SuperLeague play-offs at the UL Arena on March 24 and 25.

ABRAKEBABRA TIGERS will renew rivalry with St. Vincent’s in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague clash at Tralee tomorrow night but they will be without Micheál Quirke who was the star when they beat the Dubliners in a thrilling cup semi-final a month ago.

IT may have done precious little to ease the disappointment of their cup final defeat two weeks earlier, but UCC Demons handed Abrakebabra Tigers a clear warning that their Nivea for Men SuperLeague ambitions could be under threat when they visited the Mardyke Arena yesterday afternoon.

BEFORE the semi-finals two weeks ago, few would have predicted Team Montenotte Hotel from Glanmire would challenge UL Aughinish for the national cup title.

DEFENDING champions, UL Aughinish, are back in the final of the women’s cup after a comprehensive 84-62 victory over Bausch & Lomb Wildcats.

TONY HEHIR will find himself in an unusual situation in tomorrow’s National Cup semi-final between UL Aughinish and Bausch & Lomb Wildcats at the National basketball arena.

ABRAKEBABRA Tigers are braced for a backlash in Ballina tomorrow night when they play Merry Monk in the 11th round of the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague.

BOTH the Abrakebabra Tigers coach Dave Falvey, and the Limerick Lions coach Tom Hehir were left holding their heads in disbelief after Tigers had snatched an 89-92 victory and the vital NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague points on the buzzer at UL Arena yesterday afternoon.

ABRAKEBABRA Tigers will include Kieran Donaghy when they host DART Killester in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague at the Tralee Sports Complex tomorrow night.

NEPTUNE coach Sasa Punosevac feels they can spring a surprise when they travel to Clontarf tomorrow night to play his old club, DART Killester, in the SuperLeague Cup qualifier.

THE first cross-conference weekend in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague season was disastrous for the teams from the South, who will be hoping to pick up the pieces when their paths cross again this weekend.

DEFENDING champions UCC Demons will face Roma St. Vincent’s in the first semi-final of the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague at The Mardyke Arena next Saturday afternoon while Merry Monk Ballina will contest the other place in the final with Limerick Lions.

WITH UCC Demons and Merry Monk Ballina waiting in the wings, the battle for the remaining semi-final places in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague reaches a climax tomorrow night, when Limerick Lions host DART Killester and Killarney’s Gleneagle Lakers travel to Dublin to play Roma St Vincent’s.

GLENEAGLE LAKERS recorded a sensational second successive victory over the table toppers and defending champions, UCC Demons (105-90) in another thrilling NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague clash in Killarney on Saturday.

THE Women’s SuperLeague quarter-finals dominate the weekend’s basketball programme, but there is still a lot of unfinished business in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague - with Abrakebabra Tigers fighting for survival tonight at Neptune Stadium.

This weekend is the final weekend of the regular season in the Women’s SuperLeague. The top six have been decided, but this weekend teams will be playing for place.

NEPTUNE, coming off last weekend’s long overdue win, will be looking for more of the same at Neptune Stadium tomorrow night when they play UCD in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague.

WITH just five weeks to the final shake-up, Limerick Lions will host defending champions UCC Demons in a mouth-watering NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague clash at UL Arena tomorrow night.

NEW coach Michael Evans will measure Neptune’s progress when they tip off a big weekend for Cork in tonight’s home game against Limerick Lions.

PAT GLOVER should be playing for UCD against Limerick tomorrow night in the quarter-final of the Superleague Men’s National Cup, but will now be courtside bidding to halt their recent run of poor results.

TRALEE TIGERS are determined to build on their confidence-boosting victory in Limerick last Monday when they travel to UCD tomorrow in week four of basketball’s NIVEA for Men SuperLeague.

ON A weekend when three of the four cup semi-finalists tasted defeat a week before Cup final weekend, Limerick Lions got their challenge for the NIVEA SuperLeague play-off spot back on track with a sensational 107-98 home victory over Mardyke UCC Demons.

COACH Jim Nugent says Davenno Hines will be a key player as Neptune battle for a place in the play-off stages of the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague.

BASKETBALL action in Cork gets off to a flying start in the New Year with two quarter-finals of the National Cup to be decided at Neptune Stadium on January 2, and the Mardyke Arena on Monday, January 3.

Today’s draw for the quarter finals of the National Cup saw the two SuperLeague conference leaders pitted against each other, with Abrekebabra Tigers travelling to DART Killester.

Tralee side Abrakebabra Tigers will face Merry Monk Ballina missing several key players in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague this weekend.

AFTER a sensational victory over Merry Monk Ballina in the National Cup qualifier on Wednesday, Waterford Crystal have the opportunity to go one better by springing a surprise in Sunday’s SuperLeague clash with Abrakebabra Tigers in Tralee.

The Southern Conference of the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague hosts an intriguing clash between Limerick Lions and Mardyke UCC Demons in Cork tomorrow night.

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.

WHEN Mardyke UCC Demons and Neptune battled their way through to the final of the National Cup at the end of last season everyone was regretting the fact that it was not to be played in Cork - for many the spiritual home of basketball.

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.