Conor Meany: poor Neptune showing a real head-scratcher 

Inside Basketball: Ballincollig are almost there and Liffey march on.

Kingsley Nwagboso, UCC Demons battles with Max Richardson and Oisin Kerlin of Belfast Star. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

Neptune fail to fire against Templeogue 

Neptune’s road loss to Templeogue was a head-scratcher for many around Irish basketball. Neptune are still in a fight for the final Southern Conference playoff spot and yet they arrived to the National Basketball Arena with a lack of energy or urgency as they got blown out 94-63 by a team who won’t make the playoffs this year. Templeogue were excellent, with Lorcan Murphy back to his best and James Gormley dominating inside early on, but for as good as the Dubliners were Neptune helped them along the way. Neptune when flowing are the best in the country, but when they aren’t hitting shots, they are extremely vulnerable. Their defense on Saturday was poor and their body language was worse. They remain the team most capable of turning a switch but at the moment it’s hard to see how they can win three playoff games in a row, and if they don’t win next week in Tralee, they won’t even get an opportunity to try.