UCC Demons warmed up for Friday’s National Cup final against Dublin Inter with an impressive 80-73 win over UL Eagles in the men’s Premier League.

NATIONAL CUP SEMI-FINAL:

They are both on a seven-game unbeaten run in the Men’s Premier League and tomorrow Killester and UCC Demons will do battle to take pole position heading into the Christmas break.

Bord Gáis Neptune produced their best performance of the season defeating DCU Saints 95-87 in a thrilling Men’s Premier National Cup quarter-final at the Neptune Stadium.

UCC Demons player coach Colin O’Reilly had mixed emotions after guiding his team to a hard-earned 77-75 win over the champions UL Eagles in the Men’s Premier League.

UCC Demons 79 Bord Gais Neptune 74

When you have played at SuperLeague level for 15 years and are contemplating retirement a bit of silverware would be the ideal way to finish your career.

Men’s SuperLeague National Cup Final: Bord Gáis Neptune (Cork) 85 UL Eagles (Limerick) 65

Ger Noonan can’t believe it’s been that long.

It’s a 46-year intense rivalry that has made UCC Demons and Bord Gais Neptune one of the most spectacular games on the Irish basketball calendar.

Bord Gais Neptune 72 UCC Demons 74

UCC DEMONS overwhelmed neighbours Bord Gáis Neptunefor the second time in three weeks to qualify for the final of the National Cup on an 84-66 scoreline as the third derby game of the season brought the curtain down on an action-packed weekend of cup action in Cork.

LOCAL public representatives are to request that Cork County Council purchase a historic house as part of its plan to turn Cork’s lower harbour into a major tourist attraction.

KILLESTER retained their Nivea for Men Superleague title following a classic final win over Bord Gáis Neptune at the National Basketball Arena yesterday.

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.

BOTH men’s SuperLeague sides in Cork will be back in action over the weekend after Thursday night’s derby game saw UCC Demons blow away Bord Gais Neptune with little difficulty.

LAST night’s eagerly awaited derby had all the look of a festive hangover about it as UCC Demons cruised past Bord Gáis Neptune to increase their lead over them to four points in the Southern Conference table.

DERBY games hold special places in team sports and in Irish basketball they don’t come any bigger than the clashes between UCC Demons and Bord Gáis Neptune which punctuate the annual NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague programme.

CORK County Council has purchased the historic Mallow Castle and its 30 acres of grounds for a knockdown price of €1.7 million.

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.

11890 Killester are the only unbeaten side in the NIVEA For MEN SuperLeague after a 93-81 win over UL Eagles at Clontarf on Saturday night.

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.

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.

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.

IN NORMAL circumstances it would be just an opportunity to recover from a National Cup semi-final, but UCC Demons and National Event Hire Neptune will sweep into Neptune Stadium on a wave of adrenalin for another derby game tomorrow night.

CORK derby games in particular are special but last night’s NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague thriller between UCC Demons and National Event Hire Neptune went beyond all the boundaries for excitement, drama and then a nailbiting finish.

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).

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

STEPHEN McCARTHY will parade his new-look Neptune side before the home fans when the new basketball season tips off in Cork tomorrow night.

KIERAN O’BRIEN, a product of Noel Allen’s underage programme, last night turned in the most important 11 minutes of his career as he powered his club to a vital NIVEA for Men SuperLeague derby victory over UCC Demons at The Mardyke Arena.

THE Women’s SuperLeague quarter-finals dominate the weekend’s basketball programme, but there is still a lot of unfinished business in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague - with Abrakebabra Tigers fighting for survival tonight at Neptune Stadium.

UCC DEMONS will have the national cup on parade when they play host to Roma St. Vincent’s at The Mardyke Arena on Sunday afternoon, but Pat Price’s squad will have other things on their mind as they brace themselves for a furious run up to the play-off stages in defence of the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague title.

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.

UCC Demons 107 Neptune 85

First up in basketball this weekend is National Cup action when UCC Demons take on local rivals Neptune in a backyard brawl at the Mardyke Arena in Cork on Friday night to determine which team advances through the knockout stages.

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.

A CASTLE may be converted to a municipal headquarters as Cork County Council and Mallow Town Council are expressing interest in the historic building.

AFTER an amazing weekend that saw Neptune overwhelmed by DART Killester and Mardyke UCC Demons lose an apparently unassailable lead before fighting back to beat UCD, the pairings for next weekend’s semi-finals of the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague have been decided with Abrakebabra Tigers from Tralee and Roma St. Vincent’s already qualified.

Brendan Mooney

FANCY living like a lord on the banks of the River Blackwater? — then here’s your chance. Mallow Castle comes on the market this week with a €7 million-plus price tag.

NEPTUNE and Shamrock Rovers Hoops have each won basketball’s most coveted prize - the National Cup - four times but tomorrow night they will be battling to stay in this year’s competition at Neptune Stadium.