Double delight as Demons secure home play-off
Yesterday Atupem’s last-gasp basket was enough to give the Cork side a slender 85-83 win while, on Saturday, his contribution alongside a superb performance from young Ciarán O’Sullivan ensured a more comprehensive 86-71 victory.
“We stole the win,” Demons’ coach, Paul Kelleher, admitted after yesterday’s game. “It was a very hard-fought game and we showed good character in the closing stages. Star are a good side and when Paul Cummins (29 points) is in that sort of form, they are very hard to stop.
“We showed signs of tiredness but are delighted to come away from one of the toughest places (to play) with full points from two games.”
The other Cork Men’s SuperLeague team, Bord Gais Neptune, will have to settle for second place in the Southern Conference after a 92-58 drubbing from the Northern Conference winners, DCU Saints, in yesterday’s tie. Saints produced a superb display, led 53-34 at the break and kept the foot on the pedal throughout the second half with Martins Provizors contributing 24 points.
Jason Killeen maintained his good scoring form with 31 points as the newly-crowned cup champions, UL Eagles, defeated UCD Marian 90-81.
The imposing 6’10’’ forward who has returned to his native Limerick after spells in the US, England and France to make a major contribution to their cup success insisted they won’t be resting on their laurels. “UCD away is a good win and keeps us rolling in terms of being sharp for the play-offs. We are coming into form at the business end of the season and we have to keep the run going.”
Last season’s champions 11890 Killester secured their third win in a row away to Moycullen 83-60 — reversing last month’s 64-58 defeat. Coach Darren O’Neill said: “We started really well and it set us up nicely. We were missing a few players and it gave us an opportunity to blood some of the younger guys and I was very impressed with the performance of Jody O’Neill and Fergal Flood.”
