AFTER the third week in the Budweiser Superleague, only Neptune Camtec and Star of the Sea remain unbeaten. In a vital game at home in Killarney, St Paul's went under by seven points to the Belfast outfit with the northerners only stretching away to their victory margin, 84-77, in the final minutes.

But the margin was much more emphatic in the heady atmosphere that is the Neptune Stadium as the home side had 22 points to spare, 99 to 77, against Killester, who always promise much but all too often fail to deliver on that potential.

In Killarney, strong nerves were a prerequesite as Star fought hard to take the points. St Paul's were the dominant force in the opening hall, with Nick Browning scoring at will, but his high scoring partner of earlier games, Vince Daly, was well marshalled by the Star defence and was not finding his way to the basket as easy as in earlier encounters. But the Kerry outfit did lead the way at the interval, 34 points to 30.

The second half was much more evenly balanced, with Gareth Maguire taking a greater hold on proceedings and ending up with a personal tally of 26 points, although he was outscored by teammate Gabe Jackson, who had one more point. With a little over a minute to go Star led by a mere two points, but up popped Adrian Fulton to score a vital three pointer.

Irish international had also scored a crucial three pointer for his side and with Jason Senik and Gabe Jackson then on target from the free throw line, the points were secured for Star.

Meanwhile, in Cork, Killester travelled with realistic hopes of again taking the points as they had on their last visit to the daunting arena that is the Neptune Stadium. But alas, Terry Strickland, after some less than satisfactory performances recently - after which his position with the Cork outfit was reported to be under scrutiny - was in inspired form and the Dubliners had no answer to him or his 38 points.

Neptune led by 10 points, 48 points to 38, at the break and continued to dominate in the second against a disappointing Killester team, with the final margin a massive 22 points.

Notre Dame finally got their challenge off to a winning note with a 10 point victory over Queens in Belfast, with Anthony Jenkins grabbing a total of 46 points of his side's 119, with Darren McGuinness another to show his potential with a tally of 32.

Despite a high score of 43 points by Sean Bell, Sligo were unable to overcome St Vincents at home with the Dubliners winning by 98 points to 88. The Sligo cause was not helped by the loss of Matthew Thompson early in the second half. This was the third successive defeat suffered by the westerners.

Meanwhile, Marian's game against Tralee had to be abandoned at St Michael's yesterday afternoon. The umpires were forced to take this course of action after heavy condensation on the court was deemed to be a dangerous risk to the safety of the players with five minutes and two seconds left on the clock. The game had originally tipped off 20 minutes late and there was even an extra 15 minutes added on to the interval.

Marian were leading by three points at the time, 62-59, however it would seem that the points will be awarded to Tralee, as the Irish Basketball Association rules decree that the travelling team benefit if a game has to be abandoned because of inadequate facilities.

Division one swung into action with Mid Sutton Baldoyle journeying down to Castleisland and easily overpowering St Mary's by 106 points to 89, while Ballina with Deora Marsh on 40 points proved too strong for Tridents as they won by 104 to 73 at home.

Tolka Rovers got their campaign off to a winning start when they overturned a one point half time deficit to ensure it would be a long journey home for Limerick with the Dub liners winning by five points, 98 point to 93.

The chasm between the top and bottom sides in the Gateaux Women's Division one game was cruelly exposed as Karen Hennessy, with 32 points, scored eight points more than an inexperienced Tralee side, with Meteors winning handsomely by 73 points to 24. The Kerry side can only improve as the season progresses.

The Dublin derby between Naomh Mhuire and Mid Sutton Baldoyle ended with the expected victory for the most consistent team in the league with their new signing Edel O'Gorman from the now defunct Wexford proving her worth with a tally of 22 points. Tolka Rovers made it a double as their women's side defeated Burnell comfortably.