WITHIN hours of Tralee basketball club emerging as the new Budweiser Superleague champions came recognition yesterday of the efforts of one of their stars, John Teehan, who has been called up by newly re appointed Irish coach Enda Byrt into a huge 29 man panel for training.
However, there is no national squad recognition for any other Tralee players which is scant acknowledgment of their emphatic title success which has been achieved with two full rounds of matches still left.
The decisive act in the Kerry club's victorious season was Delta's 83-80 victory on Wednesday over Tralee's last remaining pursuers Star of the Sea who only five weeks ago were top of the table and in the final of the cup.
Delta's victory keeps them in with an outside chance of reaching the Top Four post season tournament. However, should Killester beat Neptune tomorrow in Cork, then the Dublin team will clinch fourth spot.
Neptune are the hosts for the Top Four and the prospect of missing out would be the final act in a mediocre season for the 1994-95 league champions who made a poor defence of their title while also making their cup exit at the semi final stage.
To add to their depressed state at the moment are injuries to key players Gordon Fitzgerald Stephen McCarthy and Alan Kelly, none of whom is expected to be fit this weekend.
Meanwhile, another team in a depressed state is Ballina who apparently lost their battle against relegation last weekend after a defeat by Tralee. However Ballina have not given up hope of overturning an IBA decision to award the points from a recently unplayed fixture to Killester.
Ballina agreed to a deferral of the original fixture between the teams before Christmas when a flu virus hit the Killester squad.
Both clubs agreed on a new date which did not meet with approval from the IBA who then set a date in January on which Ballina could not secure their home venue. Rather than play the match in Sligo, Ballina decided not to fulfil the fixture.
Meanwhile, the National Executive of the IBA have reduced the fine imposed on Delta Notre Dame for breach of sponsorship regulations at the cup play offs from £1,000 to £600.
