Ireland's athletes are 10th of the 12 competing nations after the opening day's events in the European Team Championships 1st League in Izmir, Turkey.

HUNDREDS of primary school students took to the streets of Cork yesterday to highlight broken Government promises on school building projects.

IT IS their field of dreams... but they’ve been waiting about 10 years for it to become a reality.

TWO schools involved in separate, high-profile campaigns for better facilities have joined forces to end the new education minister’s honeymoon period.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a new school to replace the existing structure, which has been described as a potential death trap by fire officers, vowed yesterday to take their fight all the way to Leinster House.

ABRAKEBABRA TIGERS have targeted the double since the start of the season, coach Dave Falvey admitted yesterday.

REIGNING champions UCC Demons and challengers Abrakebabra Tigers sharpened the competitive edge in advance of next Sunday’s National Cup final with solid NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague victories over the weekend.

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.

THE fall-out from the BUPA Cork City Sports was evident at the national junior and under-23 championships staged at the CIT Track in Bishopstown yesterday, where the sprinters grabbed much of the limelight.

EIGHT sportspeople have been named in the Athletics Ireland’s World Class Panel, a key component of the Association’s new Performance Plan.

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.

Kerry's giant full-forward Michael Quirke is a dual star with a difference - and he'll miss Sunday's NFL Division 1A clash with Mayo because of basketball commitments.

Table toppers, Horan’s Health Stores Tigers, face a tough assignment in their opening game in the ESB National Cup when they host the SuperLeague champions, Neptune, at the Tralee Sports Centre on the weekend of December 5-7.

The ESB National Cup draw took place in the ESB Arena today, with some daunting ties lined up for the weekend of December 5-7.

Vienna Woods Glanmire 70 Dart Killester 62

WITH the new format ESB Superleague scheduled to get underway on October 11, the new basketball season tips off this weekend when the first session of the National Ranking tournament will take place.

Notre Dame's 96-106 defeat to Star of the Sea on Wednesday night rules them out of the title chase, with only two teams now vying for the Superleague trophy.

There has been somewhat of an exodus of professional players from the men's superleague this week, with Notre Dame, UCC Demons and Tralee Tigers forced to deal with the departure of their top players.

DART Killester have lodged a protest over the refereeing of last weekend’s tie against Star of the Sea, but coach Mark Ingle said yesterday there was no question of seeking a replay or anything like that.

Another victory for Neptune last weekend earned them a striking lead on the League table and with a home game against an off-form Limerick this weekend, they are likely to remain unbeaten for another week.

NEPTUNE fans will be treated to a preview of the first round of the National Cup when Sx3 Star come to Neptune Stadium on Sunday for an ESB Super League tie, as the sides will meet for their cup clash at the same venue a week later.

Weekend Basketball fixtures are as follows:

Waterford's Wildcats are back in the big time after claiming the ESB Women's League basketball title without throwing a ball in anger.