Mercy drive on after refs take wrong turn

The first week of the Nivea Women’s Superleague season led to the first big blunder of the year when the referees assigned to DCU Mercy and Ulster Rockets travelled to Waterford instead of Belfast for the game.

It mattered little though as the replacements got there in time to ensure normal order was resumed on the court where Mercy held their nerve to claim a 70-52 victory despite giving four players debuts.

They weren’t the only team to receive a scare though, as, at the Glanmire Sports Centre, Meteors of Dublin fell just short of pulling off a stunning comeback against Team Montenotte Hotel Cork, 61-52.

UL’s women’s side carried forward the form from last season that saw them win the double with an impressive 21-point win over Killester, while WIT Wildcats saw off the challenge of Liffey Celtics, 69-38.

In the Nivea for Men’s Superleague a revamped structure to Ireland’s basketball leagues has led to one thing we can be certain about — every game is now vital.

And UL Eagles, who started last season slowly, showed they have been one of the fastest teams to adopt to the changes with an 84-59 thumping of Killester.

Sitting at the top of the league table with UCC Demons, who overcame a depleted Dublin Inter side 102-70, the reigning champions already look the side to beat this season.

“We won all the battles really,” said Eagles coach Mark Keenan. “It was a dominant performance. We blew the game open early and never really looked back.”

Neptune were on the wrong side of another tight match losing 70-64 in a away from home against UCD Marian, while DCU Saints avoided a second surprise defeat in as many weeks by overturning a half-time deficit at home to Moycullen to win 81-60.