Tolka men forced to take a time-out

Basketball Weekend round-up: In a letter sent to the Basketball Ireland headquarters on Friday, Tolka Rovers chairperson Noreen…

Basketball Weekend round-up: In a letter sent to the Basketball Ireland headquarters on Friday, Tolka Rovers chairperson Noreen Darling officially pulled their men's team from the Superleague for the remainder of the season, due to a lack of financial support.

The situation has been on the cards for several weeks since the club's football arm - the main funding source - informed the basketball club of a decrease in financial support this year.

The timing of this information was unfortunate as it came after the season had already started leaving them with little time to generate new avenues of sponsorship.

To their credit, the club set-up a sponsorship committee in an attempt to find the necessary funds to keep the team afloat. Basically, money is needed to pay the foreign professionals on the team.

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After serious consideration the Tolka Rovers committee felt they would not be competitive enough to compete with other teams without a foreign input.

The club hopes to be able to return next season if a sufficient financial package can be put together. A decision on whether to continue training has yet to be made.

However, it has been confirmed no other team will be affected, including the women's Superleague team. They have one "import" player, Kat Sungy, and there are no plans for her removal from the team.

Meanwhile, in the only men's Superleague match to take place over the weekend, Waterford emerged victorious at home to Limerick, 88-78. Robert Grant had an outstanding game, finishing with 22 points, and he played a big role in nullifying the threat of Jamal Hunter.

In the women's Superleague Glanmire were comfortable winners over Tolka Rovers, in a warm-up for their cup contest next weekend. Elsewhere, Drimnagh beat St Paul's and the Wildcats beat the Meteors.

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey is The Irish Times' Soccer Correspondent