PREVIEW: Mardyke Hosts Superleague Double Header on Sunday

The Mardyke Arena plays host to a huge Basketball double header on Sunday afternoon, including a big Cork derby in the Women's Superleague.

The countdown to the end of the season is officially on as, with just five rounds left for most of the teams in the Men's Super League, attention is now firmly focused on table standings.

The pressure is on table toppers Templeogue at the moment to keep their first place position intact as Griffith Swords Thunder snap firmly at their heels and, with a number of big games ahead for both teams, neither can afford even the slightest slip up with UCD Marian, Garvey's Tralee Warriors and Pyrobel Killester all waiting ready to pounce.

Templeogue have a game in hand on Swords, and will be hoping that they can keep their lead intact as they face off to KUBS this coming weekend, while Swords take a short trip down the road to DCU Saints for their clash on Saturday evening. Templeogue have the advantage in the head-to-head with their nearest rivals, having overcome them 78-71 in their Super League clash back in December - just two weeks after Swords got the better of them in the Cup - and there's no doubt that there will be a packed hall for when these two sides meet again in the final game of the league in the ALSAA on March 18th.

Elsewhere, Pyrobel Killester will be regrouping after their loss against fourth place Garvey's Tralee Warriors down in Kerry on Saturday evening, and they will be hoping that this weekend's double header of games for them will see them earn some crucial points. They welcome KUBS to the IWA in Clontarf this evening (Thursday) before taking on second place UCD Marian on Saturday. Commercial.ie Éanna meanwhile are in good form off the back of their win over Radisson Blu UL Eagles last weekend in what was a crucial tie for both teams as they attempt to stave off the threat of relegation. That win marked Éanna's fourth of the season, but they have a tough task ahead of them this coming Saturday as they face Garvey's Tralee Warriors in Colaiste Éanna. Belfast Star meanwhile will be licking their wounds after a double whammy of losses last weekend, which saw them take on the top two sides in the League - Swords and Templeogue - in the space of 48 hours, and come out the wrong side of each of those results. They welcome SSE Airtricity Moycullen to Belfast this weekend in a game that's set to be a cracker, as the last time these two sides met in both the Cup and the League, there was just the smallest of margins between them.

UCC Demons will be hoping to bounce back after their crushing two-point defeat to Moycullen last Saturday in Galway meanwhile when they welcome bottom of the table Radisson Blu UL Eagles to the Mardyke on Sunday in a game that UL will be hoping to take the spoils from.

The Women's Super League is even harder to predict, with the balance of power between second, third and fourth position changing week on week. League leaders, Ambassador UCC Glanmire suffered their second loss of the season last weekend against Courtyard Liffey Celtics, who revelled in avenging their Cup final loss in January. While this defeat for Glanmire was not enough to knock them off the top of the table, the win for Liffey Celtics was enough to send them to second place to change the League standings yet again. Pyrobel Killester meanwhile sit in fourth place after a win over Meteors last Saturday, and will be hoping to shake things up even more when they welcome Liffey Celtics to Clontarf this weekend in what is set to be a very closely-contested affair.

Elsewhere, Portlaoise Panthers will be hoping to continue on from their win over Wildcats last Saturday when they welcome bottom of the table Meteors, while NUIG Mystics will need to bounce back well from their loss against Brunell in Cork last weekend as they play DCU Mercy. It's an all-Cork affair on Sunday as Ambassador UCC Glanmire face Singleton SuperValu Brunell at the Mardyke Arena while Maxol WIT Wildcats have a bye this weekend, but will be watching proceedings closely.

There are some big clashes in the Men's and Women's Division One this weekend with Galway side Maree welcoming BFG Neptune to Oranmore on Saturday evening. Both teams come into this game with just one loss each (Maree to Ulster University Elks and BFG Neptune to Keane's SuperValu Killorglin). A win here for either side will put them in prime position going into the business end of the season. Another big game sees Ulster University Elks take on Keane's Supervalu Killorglin on Sunday afternoon, while in the Women's Division One, all eyes will be on Belfast as Ulster Rockets take on Marble City Hawks in a repeat of a thrilling Hula Hoops Senior Women's Cup final which saw Rockets win in overtime by just one point. Rockets need a win here in order to keep their hopes of topping the League alive as they face league leaders and unbeaten ITC Basketball next weekend, while Marble City Hawks will be hoping to avenge their Cup loss and claim a vital win over the Ulster side.

Preview with thanks to Basketball Ireland.

Fixtures:

Saturday 18th February 2017 

Basketball Ireland Men's Super League: 
Commercial.ie Éanna v Garvey's Tralee Warriors, Colaiste Eanna, 18:00;
DCU Saints v Griffith Swords Thunder, DCU Complex, 19:00;
Belfast Star v SSE Airtricity Moycullen, Methodist College, 19:00;
Pyrobel Killester v UCD Marian, IWA-Clontarf, 20:00;

Basketball Ireland Women's Super League:
NUIG Mystics v DCU Mercy, NUIG Galway, 15:00;
Pyrobel Killester v Courtyard Liffey Celtics, IWA-Clontarf, 18:00;
Portlaoise Panthers v Meteors, St Mary's, 19:00;

Basketball Ireland Men's Division 1: 
LYIT Donegal v Kestrels, LYIT, 16:00;
Maree v BFG Neptune, Calsanctius College, 17:00;
Titans v ITC Basketball, Colaiste Iognaid, 18:00;
EJ Sligo All-Stars v Team Kilkenny, Mercy College, 19:30;

Basketball Ireland Women's Division 1: 
Ulster Rockets v Marble City Hawks, Methodist College, 16:30;
Oblate Dynamos v Fr Mathews, Oblate Hall Inchicore, 19:30;
 
 
Sunday 19th February 2017 

Basketball Ireland Men's Super League:
UCC Demons v Radisson Blu UL Eagles, Mardyke Arena-Cork, 15:00;
KUBS BC v Templeogue, Carroll Arena, 16:00;

Basketball Ireland Women's Super League:
Ambassador UCC Glanmire v Singleton SuperValu Brunell, Mardyke Arena-Cork, 13:00;

Basketball Ireland Men's Division 1:
Dublin Lions v Fr Mathews, Colaiste Bride, 14:00;
Ulster University Elks v Keane's Supervalu Killorglin, UUJ, 15:00;

Basketball Ireland Women's Division 1:
Ulster University Elks v ITC Basketball, UUJ, 12:45;