Basketball double-header at National Arena

Ireland's senior men and women will be looking to get their European Championship Qualification programme back on track this weekend with a tantalising double-header at the National Basketball Arena this Saturday.

The Irish senior women will be the first to take to the court on Saturday at 4:30pm to face a formidable Netherlands side.

Whilst Ireland narrowly lost out to Norway last weekend in Bergen, the Dutch overcame Iceland 66-61 to get their quest for qualification off to a winning start. Irish coach Maeve Coleman will be sending her side out on Saturday with a point to prove.

"The Netherlands thinks that Norway are their only threat in the group. They are very strong team and it will be a really interesting game to watch. Home advantage will help us of course and we will go into it full of confidence."

Coleman was disappointed by the 72-62 loss to Norway, especially since Ireland lead the game by three points going into the final quarter, but maintains that what went wrong last Saturday can be easily remedied before Saturday's game.

"You have to give credit to the Norwegians. They were tough and they ultimately deserved their victory, no doubt about that. I was very upset with the loss, but in retrospect all the things that went wrong are fixable. It's just a matter of sitting down and re-educating again."

Meanwhile, the Irish Senior Men will be looking to claim victory over Cyprus when they take to the court at 7:00p.m.

Coach Greg Gurr will be looking to put the heavy loss to Romania firmly behind them with a strong reaction from his players to overcome last Saturday's disappointment: "The reaction to the loss against Romania has been satisfactory. Several players opted to forego their free days and spend some more time on court."

Ireland are still struggling with injuries with Michael Bree set to miss out with a knee injury. Gurr is wary of Cyprus, especially as the side may be heartened by Ireland's performances so far in the qualification programme.

"Cyprus has a number of athletic and physical players who play with a lot of emotion and will be difficult to contain; especially if they get an idea that Ireland is not in great form. Preparations for the Cyprus game have been reasonable and scouting reports have been received."