DCU Mercy 72 Ambassador UCC Glanmire 71: “Good game sense in the last few minutes,” reckoned DCU Mercy coach Mark Ingle.

Ballincollig 69 Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin 64: Ballincollig coach Kieran O’Sullivan was quivering with emotion, but his description of this Men’s President’s Cup final was as apt as it was terse.

Ballincollig 69 Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin 64: An emotional first national cup title for Ballincollig basketball, after they out-lasted favourites Killorglin.

Whether big mileage has finally caught up with five-in-a-row chasing Glanmire is one of the seductive sub-plot for tomorrow’s Women’s Cup final at the National Arena. And whether there’s a handover of power to DCU Mercy in the offing or not, writes Tony Leen.

It’s as much a part of Cork sporting folklore as Flower Lodge or Páirc Ui Chaoimh, as the Mardyke or Turner’s Cross. But the storied basketball crucible that is the northside’s Parochial Hall will fall silent next month when the National Cup semi-finals are played out on Leeside.

Ireland’s Under-18 girls’ basketball squad are aiming to write themselves into the history books tonight as they prepare for the quarter-final of the FIBA European Championship against Israel in Dublin.

Neptune completed a glorious weekend cup final treble yesterday when their U20 starlets saw off the challenge of Kubs 85-75 at the National Arena.

Ej Sligo All-Stars dared to dream on Saturday as, in their first year back in the National League, they won their Hula Hoops President’s Cup semi-final against Team Kilkenny 86-63.

Coláiste Choilm Ballincollig 52 Patrician College Newbridge 51: Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig won the U19A All-Ireland Schools League in dramatic fashion, beating Patrician College Newbridge with the last score of the game at the National Arena.

Swords Thunder produced magnificent basketball to defeat Templeogue 80-69 in a rehearsal of the Men’s National Cup final at the National Arena on January 30.

For the week that’s in it, it’s facile to tee up the respective state of two of our national teams advancing on Europe. Alas, the football and basketball experiences diverge as quickly as they begin.

Team Montenotte Hotel 62 Killester 36: Women’s National Cup final: GLANMIRE retained the Women’s National Cup following a comfortable win over Killester at the National Arena on Saturday.

Cork is finally poised to get a major concert and events centre on a former brewery site after a last-minute deal to increase State investment in the project from €16m to €20m was secured.

After the excitement of National Cup, it’s back to Premier league action this weekend, with Belfast Star and Travelodge Swords Thunder topping the bill.

Paul Kelleher has experienced the highs and lows of basketball in recent seasons but the UL Eagles coach is confident his new role in Limerick will be a success.

C&S UCC Demons maintained their unbeaten record in the Men’s Premier League following a comfortable 104-84 win over UCD Marian in the battle of the colours at Belfield.

Joey Boylan has spent the last 45 years either playing or coaching at DCU Saints, and this season, after concentrating on the juvenile section of the club for eight years, he returns to coach the Premier league side.

Singletons Supervalu Brunell 80 Team Boardwalk Glanmire 61

Two bleary-eyed coaches from Tralee met each other at the front door of Cork’s Parochial Hall just after half-past ten on a Saturday morning. Both on the same scouting mission.

Chelsea face another anxious wait regarding Fernando Torres after the striker suffered a knee injury in last night’s 4-0 Champions League Group E win at Steaua Bucharest.

Steaua Bucharest 0 Chelsea 4

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was in no mood for hanging around on the eve of the must-win Champions League clash with Steaua Bucharest.

Belgium playmaker Eden Hazard will take no part in Chelsea’s Champions League Group E clash with Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday night.

Basketball Ireland’s hopes of climbing out of debt by 2017 have been set back after long-time SuperLeague sponsors Nivea ended its association with the sport.

Friday night lights for basketball’s blue riband finals. Good idea or pandering to TV?

Belfast Star have withdrawn from the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague.

Billy Walsh has promised that anything that can be done to keep Katie Taylor within boxing’s amateur ranks and on course for another shot at Olympic gold in four years’ time will be done.

It’s the middle of the day and there’s a man sitting in the bar of a hotel by Croke Park showing me a video nasty on his laptop. “Look at this,” he says with a grimace, “it’s a horror story.”

FRAN RYAN was a reluctant companion down Memory Lane this week. It isn’t that he dislikes the trip, just that 40-something years spent treading the boards as a player and coach with his beloved Marian have blurred his sense of recall.

CRUCIAL baskets from Ian Lynch secured a famous victory for Coláiste Éanna in yesterday’s Boys U-16 A final at the National Arena.

Ireland 53 Netherlands 77

LABOUR last night called for greater transparency in how Government sports grants are allocated as €2.4 million of the latest €21m worth of funding announced went to Finance Minister Brian Cowen’s constituency.

Ireland's women have lost their opening European Championship qualifier against Sweden.

Galwey Auctioneering Hoops 71 Mardyke UCC Demons 41

Sligo All Stars 60 Bausch & Lomb Wildcats 47

DART Killester 57 UL Aughinish 53

Abrakebara Tigers 90 - Roma St Vincent's 81

ABRAKEBABRA Tigers overwhelmed DART Killester - 111 to 88 - to send three Munster teams through to the semi-finals of the National Cup on what was a great weekend for basketball in the province.

Mardyke UCC Demons 86 TTH Neptune 83