Neptune tighten grip at top of the table

Refusing to send out any hope to those still in the chase, Neptune reinforced their eight-point lead at the top of the ESB Superleague with a 89-76 win over Dungannon on Saturday.

And the manner of this victory underlines just why they are now certain to reclaim the title after a two-year gap.

Dungannon got a great start with Brad Wedel, Trevor Smullen and Gary Connelly shooting them into a 16-2 lead after five minutes. They kept that trend up to the half-way stage, ahead 46-39, but then Neptune combined their confidence and skill to crush Dungannon's hopes. Rasuel McKune and Ricardo Leonard were particularly lethal under the basket, and suddenly they were up seven points by the end of that period.

There was no way back for the home side after that, with Leonard ending up top scorer on 26 points for Neptune. Celebrations in Cork, it appears, are only a matter of time.

However, there were a few alterations to the order of the chasing teams. Defending champions Star of the Sea were beaten 106103 in an epic encounter with Kerry Spring Killarney on Saturday, but rebounded with an 8277 win over the Clare Jets yesterday. That at least keeps them part of the three-way tie for second place with the Kerry side, but they are now joined by Esat Telecom Demons who capped a winning double-header weekend with a 74-69 victory over the inform St Vincent's.

It was Star's trip to Killarney, however, that not only proved the highest scoring game of the weekend, but also the closest. Little separated the sides in the opening half, and a couple of late baskets from Robbie Turner then pushed Killarney in front by two points entering the final quarter. But in battling to the end, Star had John Leahy level the scores on 103 apiece with just six seconds left. Yet that was still time enough for Vince Daly's three-pointer to give Killarney the narrow win.

The Demons, meanwhile, secured their second-placed spot only after a hard-fought battle with St Vincent's. The Dublin visitors were up by three at the half, but with Jon Estick totalling 25 points, the Demons stole the lead in time for the final hooter.

Also enjoying a double victory weekend were UCD Marian, with their 79-76 win yesterday over Dublin rivals Tolka Rovers following an even more convincing 84-68 win over Sligo Dairies on Saturday. Mike Trimmer was especially crucial in getting the two points from Tolka, and this win also jumps them four places up the table from next to last to joint sixth.

Elsewhere, it remains all too predictable in the women's Superleague, as leaders Tolka Rovers extended their unbeaten run to 13 games with a 80-65 win away to Meteors. Strangely enough, Tolka were trailing 40-31 at the half but had enough in reserve for the 15 point win.

However, Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats haven't quite thrown in the towel yet. Their 97-39 thrashing of the University of Limerick proves their appetite for the game is still significant even if their chance of winning the title is not.

Yesterday was also a glorious day for Crusaders, who finally managed to put some points on the table this season with a 47-37 victory over Killester.