Cork Basketball: Glanmire left with regrets against Brunell as Fr Mathew's rue missed opportunity

It was a weekend of top- class action in the Men’s and Women’s Super-League’s that began with The Address UCC Glanmire and Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell doing battle at the Mardyke Arena.

A good attendance was treated to an exciting game but in truth when you dissect the stats, they make X-rated reading for both coaches.

In the case of Glanmire chief Mark Scannell witnessing his team blow it in the dying seconds as they had three opportunities to win the game.

Over the years Glanmire have attracted some incredible professionals to their club that helped build an empire but this season Callie Cavanaugh and Deljanae Williams are simply not up to the level for the club to compete with the elite sides.

When you look at their contributions against Brunell Cavanaugh chipped in with 14 points with Willams tallying 11.

The biggest problem for Glanmire outside of missing numerous tips was the number of turnovers that totalled 20 in which their professionals had seven.

On the plus side it was nice to see Claire O’Sullivan returning and she did a good job in defence as well as contributing 10 points.

Although Brunell won they also look a side with problems with their Americans as they were rather disappointing in this game as have failed to ignite at any stage of this campaign.

The two professionals Trinity Hudson (13) and Deaja Richardson (12) just like their Glanmire counterparts had a 25-point contribution between them.

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Over four quarters Brunell had a staggering 23 turnovers with Richardson having nine which is off the charts for a professional. Maybe a little late for either club to make changes but looking at the Super League having good professionals is a must as the standard generally this season has been really poor.

The third Cork team in the Women’s Super League Fr Mathew’s started their home game on their home court at the Model Farm Road which the court surface deemed unfit for the players by the match officials.

Despite leading 32-21 with three minutes remaining to the interval they will forfeit the game 20-0 which is a shame as they were reportedly playing good basketball.

The surface at the Model Farm Road court has luckily escaped a few near cancellations in recent years but on this occasion, it was deemed unplayable.

UCC Demons made the long trip to Galway on Friday for a clash with Maree and were relieved to come away with a 100-97 win.

Demons American Elijah Tillman picked up an early injury that saw him restricted in his scoring as he could only chip in with 10 points in his 28 minutes of action.

Lehane suffered back spasms before the game but let’s salute the contribution of Scott Hannigan who tallied 16 points off the bench in a Man of the Match display.

Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig produced a season-best to defeat Killester at home on Saturday and that was the ideal preparation to take into Sunday’s derby clash with UCC Demons.

On the day when the former Blue Demons greats had a memorable reunion, the present squad of UCC Demons didn’t let them down with a comfortable 102-85 at packed Mardyke Arena.

Demons in truth despite a shaky start took over and, in a game, where defence was questionable from both sides they always had the ability to nail the crucial baskets.

Credit to Ballincollig they refused to throw the towel in but in reality, Demons always looked likely winners as they now can prepare for another local derby against Neptune on Saturday.