The Men’s Super League kicks off in earnest tomorrow with the big game of the weekend at Neptune Stadium between C&S Neptune and Keane’s Supervalu Killorglin.

The good and the great, the ones who made stellar contributions to Irish basketball at home and overseas, were inducted into Basketball Ireland's Hall of Fame at the weekend

In a town like Tralee and a county like Kerry, mention or sight of a football is never far away.

Three years ago the Tralee Warriors did not exist, though the idea of an amalgam of the various clubs in the town was beginning to ferment in the mind of a fella called Kieran Donaghy.

After a rollercoaster of a ride through the Men’s Super League 2018/19 season, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors were finally crowned champions at their home court.

So it all comes down to this. Whatever Basketball Ireland is paying its marketing team, it’s not enough as they’ve conjured the ultimate final regular season weekend of the Superleague season. Three rivals for the title, two facing each other in back to back fixtures Saturday and Sunday.

Hula Hoops Men’s National Cup semi-final: Pyrobel Killester 76 Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 70

Holders Templeogue are out of the Pat Duffy Men’s National Cup after losing 92-103 to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, in Inchicore.

To appreciate the extraordinary journey and career Kieran Donaghy underwent before announcing his inter-county retirement yesterday on the 17th anniversary of 9/11, it’s worth rewinding to where he was when those planes crashed into those towers.

When to drink or not to drink, that is the question anyone involved with a team must ask.

Kieran Donaghy returns to his roots next week as he helps develop the next generation of basketball stars in Kerry.

BASKETBALL SuperLeague outfit Bord Gáis Neptune are expected to announce their new head coach next week after Pat Price revealed he was returning to the USA after a glittering career in Ireland.

DEFENDING champions, 11890 Killester, will be red hot favourites going into Sunday’s NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague final at the National Basketball Arena but coach, Mark Keenan, has been around long enough to realise there are no foregone conclusions in this type of situation and Bord Gáis Neptune, he reckons, are not ones to be taken lightly.

AFTER a period in the doldrums, Bord Gais Neptune find themselves back in familiar territory following their 90-88 semi-final victory over UL Eagles that qualifies them for a showdown with champions, 11890 Killester, in next weekend’s NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague final at headquarters.

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.

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.

EXPECT more fireworks when Bord Gais Neptune and UCC Demons meet in the Cork SuperLeague local derby at Neptune Stadium tomorrow night.

REVENGE will be in the air at the IWA Centre, Clontarf tomorrow as Cup champions UCD Marian face defeated finalists 11890 Killester in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague.

DCU SAINTS brought off what could be the surprise of the season in recording a stunning victory over defending champions 11890 Killester, as the men’s SuperLeague turned the corner yesterday.

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.

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.

THERE is a familiar look about the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague table as the halfway point of the season approaches.

AFTER last weekend’s sickening loss to UL Eagles in the quarter-final of the National Cup, UCC Demons coach Paul Kelleher will be hoping for a massive turnaround when they return to the UL Arena tomorrow night for a NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague assignment.

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.

IT’S the clash every Irish basketball fan has been waiting for: the defending champions, 11890 Killester and the team they beat in last season’s final, UL Eagles, meet at Clontarf tomorrow night in what may prove a roadsign towards the destination of this year’s honours.

BORD GAIS Neptune Head Coach Pat Price believes his side’s rebounding will be vital in tomorrow night’s National Cup second-round clash with South Conference leaders UL Eagles in Limerick.

UL EAGLES travel to Cork tomorrow for a clash with Bord Gáis Neptune in a crucial Nivea for Men SuperLeague game at the Neptune Stadium (7pm).

KILLESTER continue their defence of the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague tomorrow with a potentially tough clash at home to Bord Gáis Neptune.

BASKETBALL’s women’s superleague kicks off this weekend with a virtual clean slate for reigning champions, Team Montenotte Cork.

BORD GÁIS Neptune coach, Pat Price, is planning without their 6’7” power forward, Robinson Louisme, for their big NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague clash with UL Eagles at Neptune Stadium on Sunday (3pm).

PAUL KELLEHER could hardly have hoped for better after stepping into the role of the head coach with his club, UCC Demons.