Tigers dethroned as Lions secure shock victory in Belfast
Tigers thought they had given their hopes of making the play-offs a massive boost with a 86-79 win over Elks but results elsewhere dashed their hopes of ending their season on a high.
The Tralee side currently occupy third spot in the Southern Conference alongside Limerick Lions who face HOOPS next weekend in the final game of the regular season.
Tigers have an inferior points difference against both sides and this means they will finish in fourth position.
“We did our best but to go out on points difference is heartbreaking,” Tigers coach, Kevin O’Donoghue, said after assessing the implications of the weekend results. “Its tough on the players and the club but we gave it everything and just came up short.”
Limerick Lions, despite their early season problems, punched their way into contention for the play-offs when they produced a shock 84-82 win over a Belfast Star side who were looking for their eighth straight win of the season.
“We are probably somewhat fortunate to be in a situation where we have a chance to get to the playoff stages of the league — but we’ll take it,” Lions’ coach, JP Nerbun, admitted.
HOOPS were unable to match their play-off rivals and they are still searching for their first win of 2009 after a 90-83 loss at home to DCU Saints.
DART Killester began the season as favourites for at least one of the big titles and, after losing the cup final to their arch rivals, UCC Demons, they kept their SuperLeague hopes on track when they ended their regular season with a fine 89-67 win at home to Neptune on Saturday night.
Mark Keenan’s side held an eight-point advantage at the break and were always in control. Neptune, who are already assured of a place in the play-offs, enjoyed a good scoring display from Vincent James.
UCC Demons are hotly fancied to add the SuperLeague to Cup and Conference titles and they reinforced their bid for the treble with a 93-78 victory over a strong UCD/Marian.
In Basketball Ireland’s Women’s Superleague, champions, Team Montenotte Hotel Cork, secured second place in the regular season by beating DCU Mercy in yesterday’s 74-71 thriller.
Once again it was a three pointer from Jennifer Strong in the closing seconds that sealed the win and ensured there would be no overtime.
“They showed tremendous resilience to fight back and this is a great confidence boost heading into the play-offs,” coach Mark Scannell said.
UL Aughinish, who finished third, will face Montenotte in the play-off semi-finals and they managed to end the regular season on a high, beating Tolka Rovers by a solitary point, 50-49.
Meteors ended their season in emphatic fashion, with a 96-72 win over Leisureworld Churchfield Iona BC, while Bausch & Lomb Wildcats earned a 77-59 success ahead of their play-off journey.
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