Neptune should make it seven wins in-a-row
However, nearest challengers Sx3 Star have two games in hand and remain a huge threat.
Neptune go into this game looking for their seventh win in-a-row and coach Martin Aherne sees it as a tough test despite the fact that BurgerKing appear to be struggling.
“They have big Americans and it will be very interesting to see how our lads match up to them,” he said. “But we have been playing much better away than at home but I think we will have a big following for this game.
“The difference between our Americans and Neptune’s Americans is that Neptune’s Americans’ are much quicker,” Burger King Coach Tom Hehir insisted. “Hopefully our guys can put in big performances this weekend.
“We had two losses back-to-back and a bad one last weekend to Tralee. We won four in-a-row then lost two and if we had won last weekend we would be up there in third place.”
Gleneagle Lakers have a busy double-header weekend, away to St Vincent's tomorrow and home to Waterford Crystal on Sunday.
After coming so close to their first victory against Demons last week, Killarney will be hungry to record a win this weekend, but the absence of a Bosman is affecting both teams, following the departure of Patrick Fitzpatrick and Otis Duffy.
Waterford’s 86-67 defeat by Notre Dame on Wednesday, their seventh of the season, would appear to indicate that the recent acquisition of Luke Dean is not having the desired impact on the squad, and with the quarter-finals of the Cup looming, another change may be necessary.
To add to their woes, Derrick Lyons pulled a muscle in his back that kept him out of the Notre Dame game for the entire second-half.
Coach Pat Price will have the Cup quarter-finals on his mind when Mardyke UCC Demons travel to Dublin to play Dart Killester. After last weekend’s victory over Gleneagle Lakers another win would send them into the Cup tie with Tolka in just the right frame of mind.
And Price insists that if they are going to win the Cup then it will ultimately be their Irish players who will do it.
“That’s why last weekend’s win was so important,” he said. “The point that I emphasised - the Irish players making a major contribution - came good. We did not have to rely overly on Billy Gilligan. We had a nice balance attack and Bill Romano showed what he is capable of. He did an outstanding job on John Estick.”
Dart Killester have replaced Howard Jackson with 6'8'' Clyde Ellis, who has just completed a contract in Korea where he was averaging 20-points and 15 rebounds. Ellis formerly played with Manchester Giants under coach Mark Ingle.
Frosties Tigers have been plagued by injury in recent times and the latest casualty is Alan Keane, who will be out for a number of weeks.
Keane, who averages 32 minutes a game for Tralee, tore a chest muscle in the gym during the week.
Michael Quirke is back training this week, and coach Rus Bradburd is hoping to have him back on the squad for the UCD Marian game tomorrow. Marian have a full squad available for the weekend.
The first round of the Junior National men’s and women’s Cups will take place this weekend. A new format has been introduced this year, with the top two teams coming out of each group to contest the quarter-finals in early January.
Junior men’s title holders, St Vincent’s, have been drawn in the group of death, with Notre Dame and Dart Killester .
University of Limerick are holders of the Junior women’s Cup and have a tough opening game against St Paul’s tomorrow.
UL will find it tough to come out of their group, with Killester and Meteors in the same group.
Waterford Wildcats are also in a tough group, alongside Presentation Thurles, Tolka Rovers and Star of the Sea.
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