Waterford stay clear

Waterford may continue to lead the way in the ESB Superleague but they remain closely shadowed. A series of tight results this weekend has seen Killester, Tralee and Limerick all move on to their shoulder to form a three-way tie in second place.

BASKETBALL: While Waterford's 91-79 win over Tyrone was expected (the Northern club are still without a win in their 15 games) the victory for Killester was cherished. Dublin rivals Notre Dame were rediscovering some of their best form and promised a stern test for Mark Ingle, who returned as head coach at Killester last week.

In the end it took a late, late slam-dunk from Chris Davis to give Killester the 91-89 victory - their seventh win in the last eight games.

Killester, leading 50-45 at half-time, looked to be safe until Anthony Jenkins and Brandon Hughes inspired a late rally so to tie the game at 89-89 with seconds left on the clock. Davis then blocked a late shot by Jenkins to earn Killester the valuable points.

Limerick found the going equally tough against UCD Marian, but eventually pulled off an 87-86 victory. BJ McFarland was once again their key player with a 31-point contribution.

Tralee didn't have to sweat quite as hard in their 98-85 win over Tolka Rovers, to leave them - along with Killester and Limerick - with 11 wins from their 15 games. Waterford have won 13 of their 16 games.

Less pleased will be St Vincent's, who yesterday fell 83-63 to the Demons, while there was disappointment for the other Cork club Neptune, who lost 82-81 to Star of the Sea.

The women's league remains a two-way battle between the Wildcats and Tolka Rovers. Rovers pressed all the way in their 62-60 win over Killester, while the Wildcats had some breathing space in their 76- 66 win over Meteors.