UCC Demons hoping to bounce back from shock defeat

This weekend, C&S UCC Demons will bid to bounce back from their shock, pre-Christmas defeat to DCU Saints with a double header on the road, against Killester and Moycullen.

Demons looked a shadow of the side that went unbeaten last season, but co-captain, Ciarán O’Sullivan, believes the Cork giants can return to winning ways.

“We weren’t at the races against DCU Saints and were duly punished, but, hopefully, we have shook the cobwebs off and will be ready to go against Killester,” O’Sullivan said.

“We cannot afford to lose any more games and that still might not be good enough, but there is plenty of character in our squad and I am confident the tide will turn sooner rather than later.”

Demons are without their number-one point guard, Kyle Hosford, who surprisingly took a mid-season break to New York.

Leaders Templeogue are back at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday, when they face in-form DCU Saints.

Saints’ American, Duane Johnson, has made a huge impression since joining the Dublin outfit, and Templeogue coach, Mark Keenan, will be planning how to negate his scoring threat.

Swords Thunder will be expected to see off UL Eagles at the same venue, but the Limerick outfit produced a shock win in their October clash.

Basement outfit, Eanna, dream of getting the new year off to a winning start, when they welcome Belfast Star.

In the Women’s Premier League, Team Montenotte have been rocked by the news that star point-guard, Niamh Dwyer, faces a long lay-off with a cruciate knee injury.

Coach Mark Scannell said: “For the people that know Niamh, they will be aware how she has taken her bad news, but, as a team, we will drive on and I am sure the squad will be doing everything to win some silverware for her.”

Montenotte’s Cup opponents, Meteors, are in action tomorrow, when they host leaders, DCU Mercy.

Singleton’s Supervalu Brunell — shock winners over WIT Wildcats before the break — travel to Limerick to play UL Huskies, with coach Kieran O’Leary demanding more consistency from his squad.

“When we are good, there is a strong possibility of us competing with the best, but when we fail to show up it can be frustrating and lets hope we kick the new year off with a win against UL,” he said.

Killester, who meet WIT Wildcats in the National Cup semi-final, should take maximum points when they play Portlaoise Panthers.

Team Montenotte blitzed the Clontarf side in their last league game, and coach Karl Kilbride will be urging his team to produce an improved performance.