Team Montenotte, Glanmire won their third Women’s Premier League and Cup double in scintillating style yesterday when defeating DCU Mercy 72-69 in an epic final at the Watershed in Kilkenny.

John Coughlan previews the weekend’s basketball action.

As they watch Dundalk disappearing over the horizon in the league, Cork City and St Patrick’s Athletic have had just a couple of days in which to lick their wounds after their respective unhappy Mondays in Tallaght Stadium and Oriel Park.

Ireland manager Martin O’Neill designated it the “tie of the round” yesterday after he helped pair Cork City and St Patrick’s Athletic in the draw for the Third Round of the FAI Cup.

It’s the cup holders versus the all-time cup record-holders at Richmond Park tonight when St Patrick’s Athletic host Shamrock Rovers in the stand-out tie of a hectic FAI Cup second round weekend.

Colin O’Reilly has laid down a challenge to players hopeful of making the Men’s Premier League All-Star team competing at the Sino-European Championships in July.

FAI Intermediate Cup: A Roy Long-inspired Avondale United moved to within three games of an historic five FAI Intermediate Cup titles in-a-row after a deserved 3-1 win over College Corinthians in their fourth round clash at Avondale Park on Saturday.

Back for more punishment, all so that we can all have even more fun and rows, writes Kieran Shannon.

C&S UCC Demons will complete their 2014 campaign when they entertain Templeogue in the Men’s Premier League at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday.

Team Montenotte’s unbeaten record in the Women’s Premier League is sure to be tested when they play joint leaders Courtyard Liffey Celtics at Upper Glanmire Sports Centre tomorrow.

SuperLeague basketball is dead. Long live Basketball Ireland Premier League. Basketball Ireland is expanding the top league from eight to 10 teams with Templeogue of Dublin and Belfast Star joining the top flight for the 2013/14 campaign.

Tolka Rovers 2 College Corinthians 2

It’s the weekend when some of the country’s top intermediate sides dream of causing a shock against Airtricity League opposition.

Dublin Thunder could seal SuperLeague status tonight by claiming the senior men’s National Cup at the National Basketball Arena.

DUBLIN THUNDER earned their place in the Senior Men’s National Cup final with a comprehensive 104-57 victory over TLB Kilkenny in a one-sided semi-final.

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.

NO surprises for guessing what subject has dominated the conversation among the Irish contingent at Craven Cottage recently.

Templeogue 69 Tolka Rovers 60

GLANMIRE and Claregalway will set the scene this evening on a weekend of high octane National Cup basketball when they go head to head in the Women’s U18 decider tonight.

KEVIN DOYLE, Richard Dunne and John O’Shea are the contenders for the 3/FAI Senior International Player of the Year award at a gala ceremony in Dublin on February 6.

Kevin Doyle, Richard Dunne and John O’Shea have been nominated for the 3/FAI Senior International Player of the Year Award, it was announced today.

DEFENDING champions, Team Garveys/St Mary’s from Castleisland, are back in the Senior Men’s Division 1 National Cup final after an impressive 80-68 semi-final victory over Titans at Neptune Stadium.

BORD GAIS Neptune coach Pat Price feels it’s time for Basketball Ireland to reexamine the two-conference system which has been operating in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

TIPPERARY TOWN club St Michael’s advanced to their third FAI Umbro Junior Cup final since 2000 after a surprising but well-deserved victory over local rivals Clonmel Town in Cahir yesterday.

ALAN MATHEWS last night stepped down as Drogheda United manager, after a run of results that has left the former league champions struggling at the wrong end of the Airtricity Premier Division.

The draw has been made this evening for the third round of the FAI Ford Cup.

DEAN KELLY denied Donegal side Bonagee United a shock victory over Crumlin United in the FAI Ford Senior Cup second round yesterday.

GOALS from Gerry Bambrick and Danny Loughran sent Crumlin United through to the FAI Intermediate Cup final at the expense of hosts Rockmount in Whitechurch yesterday.

FLEDGING Cork club Cork City Foras Co-op suffered a triple blow on the playing front yesterday but were later boosted by the news of three new sponsorship deals.

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.

UL EAGLES will be fancied to reinforce their position at the top of the Southern Conference when they travel to Belfast to play Ulster Elks this weekend while Neptune bid to keep the pressure on SuperLeague champions, UCC Demons, for the prime second spot.

COACH Luke D’Alessio will have to plan the next couple of weeks without UCC Demon’s captain and star player, Shane Coughlan.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

TEAM Montenotte Hotel Cork will go down in the history books as one of the great teams in Irish basketball if they succeed in winning their third women’s National Cup in-a-row on Sunday.

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.