UCC Demons may have secured the southern conference title but they won’t be resting on their laurels when they entertain Bord Gáis Neptune in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague and what will be the final derby of theseason at the Mardyke Arena tonight (7.30pm).

Shawn Atupem chipped in with scores of 23 and 29 points as UCC Demons secured the Southern Conference title and a home venue for the play-offs with back-to-back wins over Belfast Star in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague in Belfast at the weekend.

UCC Demons face a tough weekend as they travel to take on Belfast Star twice in less than 24 hours in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

UCC Demons had to withstand a tremendous late comeback from UL Eagles before eventually sealing the points in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague clash at the Mardyke Arena last night and in the process, gained some measure of revenge for their recent cup final loss to the same opposition.

National Cup champions UL Eagles may have ambushed UCC Demons in that memorable final two weeks ago but Eagles won’t have anything up their sleeve that Demons coach Paul Kelleher isn’t expecting when the sides meet again in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague at the Mardyke tonight.

With both National Cups on display at UL it was back to league action at the weekend as DCU Saints consolidated their top spot in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague Northern Division with a 82-63 win over Belfast Star.

Phillip Neary showed composure that wouldn’t be out of place in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague as his last-gasp basket helped St Vincent’s claim U19C All-Ireland Schools Cup glory yesterday.

UCC DEMONS would not expect to be over-extended when they host Belfast Star in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague this weekend.

Basketball's Northern Conference leaders DCU Saints travel to Cork on Sunday to play Bord Gais Neptune in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

THERE were mixed fortunes for the Cork sides, Bord Gáis Neptune and UCC Demons, ahead of their National Cup semi-final next Sunday.

AFTER Thursday night’s derby game, the two Cork teams were back in action in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague yesterday when UCC Demons maintained their good run of form with an 88-65 win over Moycullen at the Parochial Hall and Bord Gáis Neptune got back into the groove with an impressive 74-67 victory over UL Eagles at the University Arena.

EVERY sport has a major rivalry, be it Cork-Kerry or Dublin-Meath in Gaelic football or Munster-Leinster in rugby but the Bord Gáis Neptune versus UCC Demons clash in basketball is up there with them (7pm tonight, Neptune Stadium).

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

UCC DEMONS halted DCU Saints’ spectacular run in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague with an impressive 76-65 victory in a cross-conference clash at the Ongar Community Centre.

UL EAGLES, smarting from their loss to UCC Demons last Sunday, will be seeking to get back on the winning trail at the UL Arena tomorrow night when they host 11890 Killester in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

DCU Saints maintained their unbeaten record in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague when demolishing Bord Gais Neptune 87-60.

KILLESTER ended Bord Gais Neptune’s unbeaten run in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague when they defeated the Cork side 68-64 at the Neptune Stadium yesterday.

UCD Marian got back to winning ways with a tremendous 72-64 win over Belfast Star in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague at Anderstown on Saturday.

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.

AS CUP final weekend looms, it was an ideal examination of 11890 Killester’s mettle, and they came through a cracker, edging out Bord Gáis Neptune by a single point (63-62) in Nivea for Men’s Superleague action.

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

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.

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).

WITH the National Cup and Southern Conference titles all wrapped up, UCC Demons will continue their relentless pursuit of the treble when they turn their attentions to Limerick Lions in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

NEPTUNE will parade their new American signing for the first time when they travel to Belfast tomorrow to play Star in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

THE shock of the season at the Mardyke Arena last night as UCC Demons lost to basement side Limerick Lions in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

NEPTUNE coach Sasa Punosevac feels they can spring a surprise when they travel to Clontarf tomorrow night to play his old club, DART Killester, in the SuperLeague Cup qualifier.

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.

LIMERICK LIONS face their most important weekend in the NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague with do or die games against Abrakebabra Tigers in Tralee tomorrow night and UCD at the UL Arena on Sunday afternoon.

First up tonight, DART Killester face ROMA St Vincent’s in a crucial tie at the top of the Northern Conference in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague at 9pm.

ABRAKEBABRA TIGERS released their second American during the week, so Joe Quirke will be banking on his Irish players when the club host UCC Demons in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague this weekend.

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.

LIMERICK Lions are aiming for a hat-trick of away victories tomorrow night as they travel to Cork to play UCC Demons in the first round of the SuperLeague Men’s National Cup.

Abrakababra Tigers 101 DART Killester 79

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.

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.

CLYDE ELLIS will, after all, be available to Gleneagle Lakers when they play MDS Star in the first round of the men’s National Cup in Belfast on Saturday.

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.