Cork Basketball: Battle to avoid relegation rolls on with Neptune in action twice

A huge weekend for Energywise Ireland Neptune in the Domino’s Men’s Super League that will begin on Saturday with a trip to the capital to play Killester.

Neptune surprised many last weekend with their solid showing away to Sligo All Stars winning by 17 points, 95-88.

No doubt the star of the show was American Mike Hayes, who finished with a 43-point tally, with the second Neptune American Jordan Henderson chipping in with 18 points a total of 61 points.

The one worry for Neptune is the present form of their bosman Adon Gregorio, who only had three points to his name in 32 minutes of court action. Gregorio, with the exception of his performance against UCC Demons in the local derby, has been a huge disappointment and for Neptune to survive, he will need to pick it up big time.

Killester are certainly on a roll after defeating Ballincollig in Cork and last weekend they demolished Limerick Celtics on the road. Johnny Grennell has coached far stronger club sides as his strength in depth is questionable but he continues to get the best from his team.

Paul Dick is without question the top Irish player in the league and he will give Neptune problems if he is not nullified in the offence court.

Americans Robert Braswell and Josh Wilson are inconsistent but again, on their home court, are capable of putting up big numbers.

Neptune will feel they can snatch an unexpected win, but they will have to repeat their performance at Sligo to have any chance.

There is little doubt Neptune’s Sunday game at home to Killorglin (3pm) is a must-win for them as the Kerry side are also in the relegation zone.

Killorglin suffered a heartbreaking defeat at St Vincent’s last weekend, 79-77, and coach Declan Wall will know another loss is unthinkable with games running out to secure safety. Former Neptune star Jordan Blount will be back on Leeside and he's consistently on double figures.

Blount’s biggest problem is his failure to keep out of foul trouble and Neptune will be hoping to expose him in this department.

The Kerry side are competitive in all games, but they tend to wilt coming down the stretch in games as their lack of strength in depth is exposed.

There is little doubt the tension will be at fever pitch in this game and with a good attendance predicted it could be an intriguing encounter with so much at stake.

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UCC Demons have only one game to contend with as they get ready to host Eanna on Sunday at the Mardyke Arena (4pm).

The big plus for Demons is that their Dublin opponents will be action on the eve of this game against Belfast Star, which should give them fresher legs.

Demons, on the back of their narrow defeat away to Belfast Star, have finally looked to have got their act together after a season that has seen them lose 11 Super League games and once in the cup.

There are many opinions on why the champions went into meltdown in this campaign but surely the lack of quality among their Americans was probably their biggest issue.

No hiding either for their Irish players who have underachieved in comparison to what we witnessed over the previous couple of seasons, unable to pass the ball or defend to a decent standard 

Coach Danny O’Mahony will be hoping they can rediscover the standard that seen them win two major titles ober the last couple of seasons.

To be fair, current Americans Jordan Washington and Tamyrik Fields are putting up good numbers and they will be expected to do the business in this crucial game.

Eanna tend to rely on their Bosman pairing of Stefan Desinica and Krisijan Andabaka with American Manou Christal coming off the bench.

Make no mistake, this is a crucial game for Demons after if they go to work in defence and cut out the turnovers that have every chance of securing the all- important win.