National Cup semi-finals: The final four, but Cork weekend still laden with questions

FINAL FOUR: Elijah Tillman , UCC Demons battles against St Vincent's. UCC Demons vs St Vincents at the Mardyke Arena in the Mens Superleague basketball. Pic Larry Cummins

Eanna need to keep scoreboard low against Killester

For many, the National Cup semifinal of the weekend in Corkis the Men's Eanna- Killester duel, a rematch of last year’s league decider which Eanna won in convincing fashion. Killester are the form team in the country, sitting at the top of the Superleague, but tactically Eanna are one of the best equipped teams in the country to challenge them. 

To beat Killester, you need to keep them out of transition and to put Paul Dick and Kason Harrell into difficult situations defensively. Eanna are experienced and have multiple players who can attack Killester’s guards. Eanna like to sit James Gormley in the key defensively and clog up driving lanes. If they can do this again on Saturday, it will be a major plus. The problem Eanna could have is that in order for them to score they need to play with pace and not be too methodical. With pace comes turnovers and Killester are brilliant at forcing turnovers and finishing in transition. I don’t think Eanna can win if the score is in the 90s but a lower scoring game is winnable. Paul Dick was hurt for last year’s final and with him back to his best, Killester have to be slight favourites.

Will Liffey Celtics make greater depth count?

Liffey Celtics vs Wildcats: Irish talent, coaches with a close connection, two powerhouse teams of women’s basketball and conflicting styles; the ingredients are all there for a brilliant game on Saturday morning. Liffey have the best defence in the country, by a long way, giving up just under 60ppg and Karl Kilbride will have to hope that his side can press Wildcats and tire out their short rotation. 

Last week Wildcats lost to Fr Mathews in the league, who used a relentless pace to really challenge the Waterford side. Wildcats are brilliant offensively and are second in the league in scoring, their issue has typically been on the other end where they give up the second most ppg of any team in the country. 

In the league game Wildcats won 75-72, but Liffey were down an American. Tactically the big question will be which team rebounds and minds the ball better. If Wildcats can avoid turnovers and play in the half-court they’ll be confident, while Liffey will feel they have more depth of options to win the game.

Holders UCC Demons must limit Sligo threes

Defending Cup champions UCC Demons are favoured to return to Tallaght ahead of their last for encounter with Sligo on Saturday. Demons are more consistent this year than last, with just four losses overall, one of which came against Sligo in the Mardyke. On that day Sligo hit an incredible 19 threes and still only won 99-92. 

The westerners are new to this stage and having lost four of their last five, including a bad loss to Templeogue, they will need a big performance on Saturday. They have the pieces to cause Demons issues, particularly if Jevonie Scott and John Carroll can guard Elijah Tillman and make the big man come out of the key to the three-point line down the other end. 

Both teams have changed Americans since their last meeting, but Demons are probably the more settled team. If David Lehane is limited by his injury, it could swing things back to Sligo, but Demons will expect to win. Keep an eye on Sligo’s three point makes as a barometer for how the games going. They’ll need 10-12 makes to win.

Can St Paul's cast a cup spell?

St Paul’s, Killarney have under-performed for most of the season, but Cup magic could be at play against Killester in the second of the women's semis. Strangely it’s been against the better teams where they’ve looked better themselves, including a tight loss at home to Killester. 

The Dubliners have experience, Irish leaders and a great American in Sam Halby and will expect to be back in the final. Ieva Bagadiviciene hasn’t been her normal self this year as she’s struggled with injuries, Killester need her for the big games, so that will be one question mark for the Dubliners. 

For St Paul’s, they know they can compete if they are relentlessly aggressive. New American signing Alex Wittinger looks like a good player who could cause Killester problems. St Paul’s league record at 2-9 suggests they have limited chance, but they have often missed key players, and when they get it right, they can compete with the top teams so this could be a trickier hurdle for Killester than many expect.