Belfast Star have moved to the top of the Basketball Ireland Men's Super League table this weekend with an 89-79 defeat of Kerry's Garvey's Tralee Warriors. One among a number of Belfast's star performers on the night, Ireland's prodigious young talent CJ Fulton certainly left his mark on the occasion.
Head coach of Belfast Star, former Irish international and father of young CJ, Adrian Fulton was quick to praise his impact in some tough circumstances.
"He has been doing well, we're delighted with him," Fulton senior admitted.
"We didn't think he'd be playing nearly as much as he is. It's more out of necessity - Adan Quinn is injured, Conor is basically playing with one hand, and CJ was given the opportunity and he's grasped it and it's terrific."
Memorably sinking 15 3-pointers in last year's Schools Cup final, CJ Fulton is certainly living up to the hype.
One of many important performers for Belfast on the night they moved top of the Super League table, Mike David, Mark Berlic and the 25-points Sergio Vidal Baldovi contributed all helped the cause against a talented Tralee side.
Elsewhere, DCU Saints won their Dublin derby tie with Templeogue on Saturday evening.
A fiercely competitive tie at Oblate Hall, Tariq Guebaili was DCU's hero on the night, grabbing the match-winning basket with only five seconds remaining on the clock.
Beating last year's Hula Hoops National Cup winners 68-67 in the end, huge performances from Martins Provizors and Mike Bonaparte – who combined for 42 points on the night – helped DCU over the line.
C and S Neptune recorded their first win of the season, edging out old rivals Maree 90-84 on Saturday evening. Relieved to have gotten off the mark, the magnitude of the win wasn't lost on head coach Paul Kelleher.
"Outside of Belfast Star, Maree were probably one of the next in-form teams, having beaten Demons and Marian," Kelleher admitted.
"We knew of their dynamism so how we defended was going to be crucial, and we did that superbly. We still lost our focus in periods, which we need to improve on, but we didn’t let them get too far ahead unlike previous games.
"The test was in a close finish, how we managed the game and we looked really composed. A very, very good performance to get us on the board."
There was plenty of action in the Women's Super League also this weekend.
Solid performances from Courtyard Liffey Celtics and Ambassador UCC Glanmire mean they remain the only two unbeaten teams in the league, with four wins from four games apiece. Shaping up to meet one another next Saturday evening, that record is likely to fall for one of them.
Liffey Celtics were convincing winners against DCU Mercy, running up an 80-57 winning margin in Leixlip. Thanks in particular to their American stars, Briana Green and Allie LeClaire totted up 54-points between them.
Elsewhere, Ambassador UCC Glanmire overcame the threat of IT Carlow Basketball with a 61-49 point win on Sunday. Pyrobel Killester were far more comfortable winners against NUIG Mystics; the Dublin side finishing on the right side of an 82-44 scoreline.
Basketball Ireland Results: November 10-11th
Basketball Ireland Men’s Super League
Griffith College Swords Thunder 87-78 UCC Demons
UCD Marian 86-64 Keane’s Supervalu Killorglin
CandS Neptune 90-84 Maree
Pyrobel Killester 99-74 Moycullen
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 79-89 Belfast Star
Templeogue 67-68 DCU Saints
Basketball Ireland Women’s Super League:
Pyrobel Killester 82-44 NUIG Mystics
Maxol WIT Wildcats 71-32 Marble City Hawks
Courtyard Liffey Celtics 80-57 DCU Mercy
Singleton SuperValu Brunell 70-72 Fr Mathews
IT Carlow Basketball 49-61 Ambassador UCC Glanmire
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One:
Ulster University Elks 73-80 DBS Eanna
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig 78-63 IT Carlow Basketball
Limerick Celtics 81-57 UL Sports Eagles
Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers 85-69 GameFootage.net Titans
LYIT Donegal 81-118 EJ Sligo All-Stars
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions 81-66 KUBS
Scotts Lakers St Paul’s Killarney 99-80 Waterford Vikings
Portlaoise Panthers 79-76 Fr Mathews
IT Carlow Basketball 78-76 Limerick Celtics
LIT 92-95 Portlaoise Panthers
Basketball Ireland Women’s Division One:
Fabplus North West 42-66 Portlaoise Panthers
Ulster University Elks 99-82 Swords Thunder
Limerick Celtics 64-59 St Mary's Castleisland
Phoenix Rockets 82-73 Trinity Meteors
UL Huskies 48-89 Maree
