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.

There’s just one game in the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague this weekend as Moycullen welcome Dublin Inter to Galway tomorrow.

The normally unflappable UL Eagles had their wings clipped at the weekend by DCU Saints to hold a place in the top four in the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague.

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.

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.

The first week of the Nivea Women’s Superleague season led to the first big blunder of the year when the referees assigned to DCU Mercy and Ulster Rockets travelled to Waterford instead of Belfast for the game.

11890 Killester required over-time before emerging victorious over Bord Gais Neptune by the narrowest of margins, 97-96, in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague clash at the IWA in Clontarf on Saturday evening.

With both National Cups on display at UL it was back to league action at the weekend as DCU Saints consolidated their top spot in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague Northern Division with a 82-63 win over Belfast Star.

THERE was no refuge for beaten cup semi-finalists Bord Gáis Neptune and 11890 Killester on their return to the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

CORMAC O’DONOGHUE and James Weldon played basketball together with Gleneagle Lakers in Killarney but will put that friendship aside this evening.

IRISH basketball will switch from the bread and butter of the SuperLeague to the caviar of the Cup this weekend when the various semi-finals will be shared out between Neptune Stadium and The Parochial Hall.

THERE were mixed fortunes for the Cork sides, Bord Gáis Neptune and UCC Demons, ahead of their National Cup semi-final next Sunday.

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.

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 was a dramatic end to yesterday’s NIVEA for MENSuperLeague clash at the Parochial Hall when the Technical officials stopped the game and awarded the points to 11890 Killester despite the fact UCC Demons were leading 60-42 after condensation was discovered on the floor.

A DREADFUL run of four defeats in five has left UCD Marian’s Superleague play-off hopes out of their own hands as they prepare for a Dublin derby this weekend against 11890 Killester.

IT MAY have taken three games, but it was worth waiting for as Bord Gais Neptune finally buried the UCC Demons bogey with a 73-62 victory in the NIVEA for MEN Super League before a full house at Neptune Stadium on Saturday night.

CORK is regarded by many as the spiritual home of Irish basketball and fans are in for another treat this weekend when all the National Cup semi-finals will be decided over two action-packed days at Neptune Stadium and the Parochial Hall.

STILL reeling from their defeat at the hands of DCU Saints, defending champions, 11890 Killester were on the receiving end again when losing 75-67 to Belfast Star in their NIVEA for MEN Super League at Clontarf at Saturday night.

WITH defending champions 1890 Killester in waiting, the remaining quarter-finals of the Men’s SuperLeague National Cup will be played this weekend.

ALL-CONQUERING 11890 Killester refused to wilt as they secured their eighth win of an impressive season in Cork — but UCC Demons pushed them all the way (90-82) in the top Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague game of the weekend.

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.

UCC DEMONS coach Paul Kelleher believes his side’s amazing comeback to win at Moycullen in the Nivea for Men Superleague will prove to be a turning point in their season.

Reigning treble champions 11890 Killester are set to face Moycullen in their opening game of the season after the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague fixtures were released today.

DEFENDING champions UCC Demons face a tricky assignment in defence of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague title when they travel to Belfast on Sunday afternoon to face the Northern Conference runners-up, Star, for the second successive week.

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.

NEPTUNE are scheduled to travel to travel to Limerick tomorrow night to play UL Eagles in an eagerly-awaited Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague game.

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.

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.

NEW coach Pat Price will be hoping for an improved performance before the home fans when Neptune take on UL Eagles tomorrow night (8pm).

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.

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.

LIMERICK LIONS will be without their coach, Sasa Punosevac, for the remainder of the season after their partnership ended by “mutual consent” at Christmas.

DCU SAINTS brought DART Killester’s unbeaten run to a dramatic end with a shock 91-88 overtime win in their Nivea for Men SuperLeague derby on Saturday night, before rounding off an exciting weekend with a win over the basement team, Ulster Elks, yesterday afternoon.

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.

NEPTUNE will parade their new American signing for the first time when they travel to Belfast tomorrow to play Star in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.