NEPTUNE coach Saisa Ponosevac is hoping for good news on Gordon Fitzgerald’s recuperation ahead of tonight’s Nivea for Men SuperLeague derby against UCC Demons at The Mardyke Arena.

NEWLY crowned Cup champions UCC Demons and beaten finalists Limerick Lions remain locked at the top of the Southern Conference table in the run-up to next weekend’s head to head following important victories in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague yesterday.

Neptune 89 Limerick Lions 91 (after overtime)

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.

MICHAEL EVANS embarks on one of the most difficult assignments in Irish basketball tomorrow night when he sends Neptune out against Roma St Vincent’s in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague at Glasnevin hoping to stem the flood that has threatened to submerge the Cork side this season.

AFTER their big win over Ballina in the first round of the Cup, Abrakebabra Tigers face a huge weekend in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague when they play host to UCC Demons at the Leisure Centre on Saturday night and then tackle Limerick Lions on Bank Holiday Monday.

IT MAY be the first game of the season, but when Neptune and Mardyke UCC Demons launch the new Nivea for Men SuperLeague at Neptune Stadium tonight (8pm), expect fireworks.

Brendan Mooney

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.

NEPTUNE coach Jim Nugent has a tough call this weekend when they travel to Belfast to play MDS Star in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

COACHES Pat Price and Jim Nugent insist they are putting points before passion when Mardyke UCC Demons and Neptune clash in tonight’s Cork derby SuperLeague game at The Mardyke Arena (8.15pm).

THIS weekend Neptune stage their pre-season basketball tournament - an event that attracts a huge interest from all over the country.

NEPTUNE will bring no Cup baggage into tonight’s big ESB Superleague clash against deadly local rivals Mardyke UCC Demons, Gordon Fitzgerald insisted last night.

FANS may be expecting a mouth watering all Cork final to the ESB Men's National Cup on Sunday but, with the Liam McHale driven Team Merry Monk from Ballina, all out to spoil the party and BurgerKing Limerick with little or nothing to lose, Neptune's Gordon Fitzgerald warned of the danger of a "no Cork" final.

MDS STAR and Dart Killester set the scene for a crunch ESB SuperLeague tie in Dublin on Thursday night with cross-conference victories over Neptune and BurgerKing, respectively, at the weekend.

Neptune 87 MDS Star 97

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.

DESPITE a 14-point victory over Neptune in the SuperLeague on Wednesday, Tigers Tralee coach Rus Bradburd is cautious ahead of tomorrow’s ESB National Cup re-match.

HORAN’S Health Stores Tigers, Tralee, extended their unbeaten Superleague run to six games with a hard-fought win over Mardyke UCC Demons (74-67) at the Tralee Sports Complex on Saturday night.

TRALEE’s Horan Healthfood Tigers preserved their 100% Superleague record in dramatic and controversial circumstances at the weekend.

UCC Demons 61 Neptune 78

MARDYKE UCC Demons and Neptune cross swords in a Cork derby game at the Mardyke Arena tonight (8.15pm) and a full house is almost guaranteed.

DEFENDING champions Neptune and the reigning Cup champions, Mardyke UCC Demons, got their respective ESB Men’s SuperLeague campaigns off to the perfect start yesterday when Basketball Ireland introduced the new conference format under which this season’s competition will be decided.

ST VINCENT’S are in the position of deciding the league title on Sunday, when they take on Neptune in the last Superleague game of the season.

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.

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.

THE battle for the ESB SuperLeague title developed into a three way contest over the weekend when Neptune, Sx3 Star and Notre Dame consolidated their positions at the top of the table as St. Vincent’s drifted further away on the wrong end of 92-92 scoreline against Hibernian UCD Marian at Glasnevin.

WHAT might appear to be a routine assignment for Neptune against Tolka Rovers in the ESB SuperLeague tie at Neptune Stadium on Sunday has developed nightmare potential for coach, Martin Aherne.

FESTIVE goodwill is in plentiful supply in Cork this weekend. On Sunday, Neptune are offering free admission to everyone for their meeting with Irish Travel Partner Saints (St Vincent’s) in the ESB SuperLeague at Neptune Stadium.

WHENEVER Neptune and Demons meet in a Cork derby fireworks are assured and tonight will be no exception when they clash at Neptune Stadium (8 p.m.).

NEPTUNE maintained, if not consolidated, their position at the top of the ESB Super League table over the weekend with an 86-101 victory over Notre Dame that left coach Martin Aherne again singing the praises of the home grown players.

BASKETBALL’S ESB Cup champions BurgerKing Limerick will open their defence away to former champions St Vincent’s, now called Irish Travel Partners Saints, next month.