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.

GER NOONAN keeps rolling back the years and he did it again on Saturday night when he played the starring role as Bord Gáis Neptune confirmed the cup result was no fluke when they collected the valuable Nivea for Men SuperLeague points with a 99-96 win away to Belfast Star.

REVENGE will be on the minds of two clubs this weekend in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

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

BORD GAIS NEPTUNE, the most decorated team in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague, qualified for the semi-finals of the current competition with an 83-69 victory over old rivals, DCU Saints, while Belfast Star pulled off the shock of the play-offs in the form of a dramatic two-point victory over UCC Demons yesterday afternoon.

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.

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.

DEFENDING champions, 11890 Killester, UL Eagles and DCU Saints all confirmed their positions but the other hopefuls still have some business to attend to in the run up to the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague play-offs.

AS STATEMENTS of intent go, Killester’s work at the weekend was pretty emphatic.

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.

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.

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

UL EAGLES cruised to a sixth Superleague win out of seven yesterday, destroying Moycullen with 30 points to spare in Limerick.

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.

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.

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 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.

UCC Demons’ tipped off their SuperLeague National Cup campaign by edging out DCU Saints by a 15-point margin today.

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).

CHAMPIONS DART Killester got their defence of the title off to a winning start against UCD/Marian on Thursday night and were able to watch from the wings as the NIVEA for MEN’S SuperLeague got back into full swing over the weekend with significant victories for Abrakebabra Tigers, Limerick Lions, and Neptune.

The opening weekend of the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague got off to a thrilling start with Limerick Lions snatching victory from the hands of Ballina, while Belfast Star came out on top in the Ulster derby with league newcomers University of Ulster.

MARDYKE UCC Demons recorded a very significant victory over Roma St Vincent’s in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague at Glasnevin yesterday and learnt almost immediately that they will be at home to UCD when they defend their National Cup title.

SURPRISE away wins for Gleneagle Lakers and Limerick and the expected victory for Abrakebabra Tigers on Saturday night means that there are four teams from Irish Basketball’s Southern Conference through to the quarter finals of the National Cup, leaving the likes of MDS Star and UCD knocking on the back door for their places.

TRALEE coach Rus Bradburd had more on his mind than a Sunday drive to Cork when he took in last week’s ESB Cup victory for Mardyke UCC Demons over St. Vincent’s.

Sx3 STAR reinforced their ESBSuperLeague aspirations with their 96-106 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night with just three games remaining in the competition, but coach Danny Fulton insisted yesterday that the business was not finished.

DEMONS coach Pat Price is confident he’ll have a replacement for James Singleton by today’s deadline ahead of tomorrow night’s ESB Superleague clash with Frosties Tigers in Tralee.

ESB Superleague action resumes this weekend following a brief hiatus which saw Notre Dame pick up the only league points of the last week.

WITH the cup quarter-final commitments out of the way, Sx3 Star turn to the ESB SuperLeague this weekend when they face an interesting visit to Munster for back-to-back games against Burger King tomorrow night and a rejuvenated Gleneagle Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

The ESB Men’s Superleague resumes action this weekend and it’s still pretty tight at the top in one of the closest-fought campaigns of recent seasons.