BurgerKing aim to end season in style
“We have put a lot energy and effort into promoting the event and now all we need is to get the result,” he said. “There is a great reaction in the city at the moment and I think we will get the crowds.”
And the UL women’s team who have won both the National Cup and ESB SuperLeague titles this year are the raging hot favourites to complete the clean sweep for Tom Hehir’s brother, Tony, who coached them to what has been a remarkable and memorable season. The top eight teams from the ESB Men’s SuperLeague and the top four from the women’s equivalent will assemble at the state of the art Limerick University Arena for the annual showdown that decides the last major competition of the basketball season.
It differs from former years in that this time around there is a new knock-out format to replace the round robin. “It is not just a an end of season thing,” Tom Hehir insisted. “This is an extravaganza of basketball. What you may have missed all year you can now enjoy in one fell swoop.”
Never has the SuperLeague been more competitive with precious little between the teams all season - indeed each of the eight teams involved this weekend all enjoyed their moments of glory before Neptune were rewarded for their consistency when they lifted the treasured title for the 11th time.
And, if they can get through the hangover of a week of celebrations, they will undoubtedly be fancied to take this particular title for the fourth time.
Coach Martin Aherne will have a full squad at his disposal for tomorrow’s lunch time engagement with Dart Killester who had this championship in mind when they signed Chris Davis last week.
Mardyke UCC Demons set the ball rolling for a Cork clean sweep by winning the National Cup and they could go into the weekend as the favourites to take a title they won for the one and oly time in 1988.
They renew rivalry with the beaten cup finalists, Notre Dame, tomorrow and Pat Price has his side razor-sharp for the clash.
“We are still without Brian Clernon and he has an enormous loss to us. We have learned to live with that but not comfortably.”
No team is more hungry that the hosts, BurgerKing, who won the Cup last year but could end up with a bare sideboard this time around.
“We are all set. There is a great energy in the team right now,” Coach Tom Hehir said. “I think the win over Killester at the weekend was very important. It gets everybody up. We face Star on Saturday night and that is going to be a huge game.
“The new format adds a lot of excitement to the competition and we know that, after the most competitive league ever, anybody can beat anybody. We have the best in the country here.”
The women’s championship looks pretty clear-cut as, after a sensational season, nobody would dare bet against UL who will be seeking the treble. They meet Sasha Meteors tomorrow evening when they will be without Deirdre Leahy and Áine Staunton who are both injured, and Sinéad Leahy, who will be available should she be required on Sunday.
Scruffy’s St Paul’s from Killalrney have been training hard for this assignment, while Bausch & Lomb Wildcats, who have won the title four times, will be without Miriam Liston, Lindsay Dunne and Cartíona White.
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