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Interactive Hang-Time News by Email Hoopchat Frequently Asked Questions Waterford take lead after Neptune slip
Waterford Crystal hold on to a narrow league at the top of the table thanks to Saturday nights win over Hibernian UCD Marian, Sligo were at the wrong end of a 1pt result which sees Tralee hold on to their place in the title race, while wins for Limerick and
In the Women’s SuperLeague Elke Schneider scored on the buzzer in her last game for Tolka Rovers to force over-time, and to keep the drama alive Nicola Farrell was fouled on the buzzer of extra-time. With no time left on the clock, the former UL star scored 1 / 2 to give the 2000 champions a vital win which keeps them on the heels of reigning champions Wildcats, who were easy winners at Glanmire.
ESB Men’s SuperLeague Results
Dart Killester 81(29) E Jackson 38, C Davis 16, D Sealy 15
St Vincents 87(46) C Dickerson 28, S McGuirk 24, D Donnelly 21Burger King Limerick 101(57) C Brown 35 BJ Mc Farland 18, R Lynch 14
Sx3 Star 90 (41)S Summersgill 23, M Dixon 22, D McGhee 20Abbey Foods Sligo 86 M Woodson 29, J Fonnteneau 25, Mal Daly 13
Frosties Tigers 87 J Turner 25, K McFarland 18, J Teahan 16Waterford Crystal 87(40) J Singleton 34, R Gorman 16, M Keohane 12
Hibernian UCD Marian 77(46) N Charles 20, G Edge 13, H Jones 13Tolka Rovers 80 P Boylan 17
Tyrone Towers 65 J Dell 25St Vincent’s 105(52)
Neptune 103(64)Big Al’s Notre Dame 72(38)A Jenkins 26, S Camera 15, B Hughes14
Esat Business Demons 78(32) J Esteck 28, M Beckles 18, B Clernon 21ESB Women’s SuperLeague
Tolka Rovers 88 AET R Kelly 25
Sasha Meteors 87 K Hennessy 15Dart Killester 86
University of Limerick 71Glanmire 58(28) D Walsh 22
Bausch & Lomb Wildcats 71(47) O O’Reilly 17
ESB Men’s SuperLeague Game Reports
Waterford Crystal 87 (40)- 77 (46) Hibernian UCD Marian
Waterford Crystal edged 2 points clear at the top of the league table thanks to a superb 3rd quarter fight back against fellow table topers Hibernian UCD Marian.An exciting opening saw two well-matched sides play end-to –end basketball, with the lead seesawing. James Singleton provided most of Waterford buckets in the first quarter, while Edge and Jones were on form for the visitors and helped them to a 23-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. Former Irish International Neville Charles had his best period of the game at the start of the second quarter – scoring 12 of his 20 points in the next 5 minutes, as the home side struggled to contain him, and his efforts ensure UCD a 44-33 point lead midway through the period.
But Waterford's league leading defence stopped the rut, as they got their act back together, and refound their form to hold UCD to just 33 points for the remainder of the game. With Singleton and Gorman on form again, the home side played some excellent and crowd pleasing basketball to cut the gap to just 6pts at half time. The third quarter remained tight, with Marian working hard to stop Crystal from gaining any advantage, but the home side pulled in front through Singleton to lead 60-58 lead going into the final period.
But at this stage, Crystal were on a roll, and their excellent defence made things difficult for Marian at every opportunity, while Singleton proved white-hot offensively. The home team outscored Marian 27-19 in the final quarter to take the important win. James Singleton with a game high 34 points, including 6 dunks had the capacity crowd on their feet, as Ryan Gorman controlled the boards, and Dean Kavanagh once again hit double figure assists.Big Al’s Notre Dame 72(38)-78(32) Esat Business Demons
Two well-matched sides provided excellent entertainment for the fans at the National Basketball Arena, with Demons just edging victory in the final quarter. Brian Clernon proved to be the difference between the two team in the end – he hit two crucial three-pointers in quick succession at the end of the third quarter to give Demons the upper hand going into the final quarter, and was on hand again to score another two vital baskets early in the fourth to further extend their lead.
Anthony Jenkins and John Esteck were both on form, and matched up well at both ends, providing most of their scores in the second half. Seco Camera and Brandon Hughes both had good first half’s, combining well to give the home side a 6pt lead going in at the break.
But Pat Prices’ half time talk obviously did its damage as Demons stepped up their defence in the second quarter, limiting Big Al’s offensive looks. Good work from Clernon, Beckles et al closed down the offensive threat of Hughes and Seco. They kept Camera to just 4 second half points, and Hughes accounted for little more than that. Jenkins kept Big Al’s in the game offensively, but the homes side had little answer for Clernons late baskets at the end of the third quarter, which effectively turned the game in Demons favour.St. Vincent’s 105-103 Neptune
St. Vincent’s fought back from a 12pt first half deficit to take a valuable 2pt win over top placed Neptune, a defeat which dents Neptune’s title ambitions and leaves Crystal clear in the front of the pack.St. Vincent’s trailed for most of the first half, with Watson and Gamble combining for 42 or Neptune’s 64 first half points, and young Junior Men’s star Colin O’Reilly also impressing.
St. Vincent’s executed a press in the third quarter and that quickly yielded dividends – while Mike Trimmer began to exert a presence on the defensive and offensive boards.Good work from Dickerson and Richardson saw the home side take a 4pt game going into the final quarter.
But Neptune fought back again through Watson and O’Reilly and got their noses out in front again and the home side looked to be letting their lead slip. But Vincent’s rallied again through Mc Guirk and David Donnelly – who was in superb form and pulled into a 5pt lead going into the final 20 seconds of the game. Colin O’Reilly hit a three-pointer right on the buzzer to cut it to a 2pt game, but Vincent’s took the win and the points in the end.
Abbey Foods Sligo 87-88 Frosties Tigers TraleeAbbey Foods Sligo fought back from a 15pt deficit in the third quarter to bring it back to a 1pt game with 14 seconds remaining, but just could not produce the basket needed to secure their fourth win of the season.
Good work from Mario Woods and Jean Fonnteneau cut it to a 2pt game midway through the third quarter, but Tralee pushed it back up to 8pts thanks to baskets from Turner and Teahan. With 30 seconds remaining in the game, Tralee enjoyed an 8pt lead and looked certain of victory. But a steal from Mal Daly set off Woodson on the break, and he got the basket and the foul to give Sligo a 3-point play to cut it to a 5pt game. Sligo went on to score two more consecutive baskets from Fonnteneau and Woodson to cut it back to just 1pt, with 14 seconds on the clock. Sligo called a time-out, but despite two chances they could not get the basket needed to secure the win, and Tralee held on for a 1pt victory.
ESB Women's Superleague Reports
Tolka Rovers 88-87 Sasha Meteors
After dominating for three quarters, Sasha Meteors were left ruing a late score by Dutch player Elke Schneider which forced their tie with Tolka Rovers into extra time, which they went on to lose by just 1pt – right on the buzzer. Tolka played below standard for much of the game, with poor defense and sloppy passing in offence, and only Rachel Kelly could keep them in touch with the visitors in the first half, but they still trailed by 6pts at the break.Meteors continued to dominate and Tolka found themselves 12pts down going into the final quarter, Meteors looked to have the game sewn up. But Tolka played out of their skins in the final period to bring it back to a 2pt game with seconds to go. Elke Schneider scored on the buzzer in her last game for Tolka Rovers to force over-time, and keep the drama alive. The game was neck and neck for all of the extra time period, and a second period of extra time looked on the cards when it was all square going into the final few seconds. But then Nicola Farrell was fouled on the buzzer and she went to the line with no time left on the clock. The former UL star scored 1 / 2 to give the 2000 champions a vital win, which keeps them on the heels of reigning champions Wildcats, who were easy winners at Glanmire.
Glanmire 58(28) – 71(47) B&L Wildcats
A poor first quarter proved costly, as Glanmire, who came within 3pts of beating Wildcats when they first met in Oznam St. back in October, could not trouble Wildcats dominance in this meeting in Little Island.An in form Olivia O’Reilly opened the scoring for Wildcats from the 3pt line and scored minutes later again from the line to make it 10-2 to Wildcats with just over three minutes gone in the game. Glanmire, who had opened their scoring through Denise Walsh, seemed to have a seal over their basket, and despite good chances for Walsh and O’Callaghan, they were not score until four minutes left in the quarter when Walsh added two more points from the free throw line. Jenny Coady and O’Reilly were both on form for the champions and O’Reilly slotted home her third three-pointer of the quarter to end it 25-10 for Wildcats.
Glanmire began to settle into the game in the second quarter and good work from Walsh and O’Callaghan saw them bring it back to 19-30, but just as they seemed to be on a roll, White scored another three-pointer to push Wildcats ahead again. O’Callaghan was left with the tough job of trying to mark White. White’s physical presence inside in the first quarter proved crucial, Glanmire were forced to close in to contain her, which left Wildcats perimeter players free long enough for White to dump the ball out to them for an open shot. Glanmire brought it back to 11pts with 3 minutes to go, thanks to a Walsh 3-pointer, but poor finishing by the home side allowed Wildcats to pull ahead again, and O’Reilly put them 47-28 in front from the line inside the final 12seconds of the half.
Glanmire continued to battle hard during the second half, but that poor first quarter was always going to be difficult to recover from and Wildcats ran out comfortable winners in the end.
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