Limerick seek one more step

With the attention switching from the Superleague to the Sprite Cup this weekend, the quarter-final tie of most interest sees holders Denny Notre Dame, seeking their fourth title in succession, playing host to Burger King Limerick at the National Basketball Arena tomorrow evening.

Despite beating league leaders Neptune 90-77 in a hotly contested first round, Notre Dame certainly won't have it all their way against Limerick, even though their league form has been poor this season and Limerick are currently fourth from bottom.

Limerick were most impressive in their first round game by beating Dungannon 92-65, and coach Tom Hehir is hopeful his team can go one step further than last year. Still, Notre Dame, who went down by just one point to Esat Telecom Demons last weekend, appear to have the slight advantage in claiming a place in the final four weekend at the end of January.

Player-coach Anthony Jenkins is still hampered by a recurring back injury, but otherwise Notre Dame have a fully fit squad. Limerick also report no injuries and will once again look to their two American signings Kareem Lewis and Rock Winston to provide most of the scores.

Tomorrow's other game has Killester making the trip to Waterford Crystal in what should be another close contest. Waterford had a reasonably comfortable route to the quarter-final, beating Kerry Spring Killarney 70-64, with Killester benefiting from a bye. Equal on the league table with 12 points, this should be another close encounter.

On Sunday, Star of the Sea travel down to Tolka Rovers in what should be a difficult clash for the Dublin side. Star have recovered their best league form and are now placed second, while Tolka are currently third from bottom.

Finally, St Vincent's will have their first fully fit side in over seven weeks as they take on the Demons at home. Last year's beaten finalists, the Demons will be slight favourites but St Vincent's have been displaying some excellent league form in recent weeks and are sure to make it difficult for the Cork side.

The only women's Superleague teams to meet in the quarterfinals are University of Limerick and Tolka Rovers. It is bound to be a major challenge for Limerick, who face an unbeaten Tolka side.