Conor Meany: Dick’s return puts Killester back as title favourites
Energywise Ireland Neptune's Chancellor Hunter is tackled by Maree's John Burke during the Men's Super League at The Neptune stadium. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Vincent's have almost secured their Super League futures thanks to a huge win over Ballincollig. Isiah Gaiter continued his recent good form with 23 points, but it was a balanced effort from the Dubliners that got it done. A win over either Tralee or UCD will guarantee safety, or equally Templeogue losing one more game — they play Eanna and Ballincollig. Things looked bad for Vincent's just a month ago when they were killed by Templeogue, but they’ve responded brilliantly winning three of their five games since then. Ballincollig will be disappointed in the loss, and in particular the manner of it. They are sliding down the table and with Adrian O’Sullivan hurt, their season is suddenly on the brink. Someone needs to tell their American Quashawn Lane that, as he has virtually disappeared over recent weeks.
Killester ended a poor run of games with a comfortable win over Templeogue. Sam Henderson scored 45 for the visitors who scared Killester in the first half before the Cup champions showed their class and pulled away to win 102-88. Critically, Paul Dick returned for Killester for the first time since the Cup final. Scoring 17 points in 25 minutes, Dick’s return lifts Killester’s ceiling and likely puts them back as title favourites. With two games to go in the regular season, Killester will want their star to get back into rhythm, but based on this weekend’s performance, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Demons lost for the first time in the league since November, ending an 11-game winning streak. Demons now need to win their final game against Eanna (or have Killester drop one of their last two) to secure the best regular season record. With no Kyle Hosford, Danny O’Mahony rotated a lot more than usual as they lost 98-95. Jordan Blount saved his best performance of the year for his old rivals as he scored 30 and added 17 rebounds and 12 assists. Killorglin need a minor miracle to get into the playoffs, with Belfast and Ballincollig both having to lose their final games, and Killorglin to beat Maree. It’s not impossible but equally it’s not probable.
Sligo went to Belfast knowing that a win would give their playoff hopes a major boost. That 122-115 win was incredibly hard fought as both teams battled through double overtime before Sligo finally emerged victorious. Robert Montgomery was brilliant with 40 points, but it was some big plays from Jonathan Brown in overtime that helped Sligo claw over the line. The Westerners have two games remaining against Maree and Neptune and one win from those two will seal a playoff spot. Belfast Star now need a win on the last day of the season against Killester and a Neptune loss to Sligo if they are to make the playoffs.
The more I’ve seen of Eanna over the last couple of weeks the more I’m convinced that the route to a league title likely has to go through the defending champions. They are healthy and hitting their stride at the right time. This weekend they beat Tralee 98-85, as they hit 14 threes and were a perfect 24/24 from the line. Tralee only had one American for the game and will be disappointed to only get five points from Gregario Adon. Overall though, when Eanna shoot that well there’s very few teams in the country who can beat them.
Jessica Fressle was brilliant with 29 points as Portlaoise Panthers went to Dublin and beat Trinity Meteors 74-68. The win secures a playoff spot for the Panthers, who have now won four of their last six games. Portlaoise have a nice balance with their Americans and core Irish group and will give a good account of themselves in the playoffs. Meteors will be disappointed to lose at home, and it perhaps shows just how reliant they are on the leadership of Sarah Kenny, who missed Saturday’s game. The Dubliners have Mystics in the last game of the regular season and Brunell and Glanmire are both facing tricky away games. Meteors will be confident of a top four finish and home court in the first round of the playoffs. Given their struggles outside of Dublin, this could be crucial for them.
Mimi Clarke was peerless on Saturday night, scoring 31 points as Killester avenged their Cup final loss to Liffey Celtics with a dominant 88-64 road win in Leixlip. Killester were excellent overall and shot the ball brilliantly, particularly from distance. It was another puzzling game from Liffey, who sometimes play below their talent. Since their dominant Cup win, Celtics are now 3-3 and have lost convincingly to both Wildcats and Killester at home. For a team that showed so much in January, there’s a fear that they’ve maybe coasted over the past few weeks, but they are looking to build back up for the playoffs. The worry is that the playoffs are now just two weeks away and Liffey only scored 64 at home. Sorcha Tiernan and Áine O’Connor continue to deliver but they need support from their Americans in particular. With Glanmire coming to Leixlip next week, there’s another good test coming, in what could be a playoff preview.
Thanks to Portlaoise Panthers' continued good form, there is just one playoff spot left up for grabs. St Paul’s will host Fr Mathews next week in Killarney with the winner earning that last spot and the right to face Wildcats in the first round. Fr Mathews lost to Brunell at the weekend, their sixth loss in a row. Since their shock upset of Wildcats at the start of January, they haven’t won again and will need to find form from somewhere next week. With their experience and talent, you wouldn’t bet against Mathews, but St Paul’s will have to feel confident overall. The Killarney side lost to Wildcats in a very low-scoring game at the weekend, where they managed just 50 points. Over their past three games they’ve averaged just 53 points, which isn’t good enough at this level. On their day they’ve been excellent, and they can definitely compete with the top teams when they fire on all cylinders. Whether they get the opportunity to do that will be down to whether they can reverse the scoreline from the last time they faced Mathews, which they lost 68-47.
