The derby clash of Neptune and Demons in the Super League tonight should bring a huge crowd to Neptune Stadium

Hard to believe that Cork and Ireland’s greatest derby game between Energywise Ireland Neptune and UCC Demons is in its 60th year and tonight the Neptune stadium will host the biggest show in town (8pm).

Neptune go into the game on the back of an impressive win over local rivals Ballincollig last weekend with Demons going down at home to Belfast Star.

On present form Neptune will fancy their chances of toppling their great rivals as they are very much improved from their last campaign at this level.

Coach Adam Drummond looked to have steadied the ship in the rotation department against Ballincollig and that’s crucial when you are competing at the highest tier of Irish basketball.

Americans Sam Smith and Kendall Taylor are competitors and bosman Jalen Hodge is capable of hurting a Demons team that do not like putting in hard work in defence.

Another plus for Neptune has been the form of Sean McCarthy and his strength going to the hoop will pose Demons problems.

The latest Demons defeat to Belfast Star was a shock to the system for the faithful as they basically went into meltdown in the third quarter after leading at the break by six points.

In the third quarter Demons were outscored 32-9 and that’s not easy reading for their players or coaching staff who between them did little to stop the rot.

Elijah Tillman started the third quarter before getting hooked and it was evident whatever unfolded in the camp the American did not see the court for the remainder of the game.

There was only one winner in this scenario and that was their opponents who basically toyed with them once they got their noses in front.

Changes will be needed in Demons for them to become a serious challenger for silverware this season as their present form suggests it could be a long winter for them.

The Neptune loyal fans will be confident they can make a break this season and a win tonight will give them huge confidence.

Demons have the greatest depth in the Super League but when players are not getting utilized correctly over four quarters the end result is usually one of disappointment and they will do well to depart the Blackpool venue with maximum points.

There is a double header weekend for Ballincollig as they are on the road for two games in the capital against Eanna and Killester.

Ballincollig will have been disappointed last weekend with their loss at home to Cork rivals Energywise Ireland Neptune but in truth their opponents played better ball on the day.

The champions gave a debut to the former Limerick Celtics American A J Williams and although finishing with 20 points there is little doubt he will produce better performances for his new club.

For the Ballincollig second American Derrick McDonald it was a case of tasting a second loss of the season and a pretty poor performance.

Granted McDonald had only arrived in the country when his team went down at leaders Limerick Eagles but against Neptune, he looked pretty average.

Player coach Ciaran O’Sullivan will be disappointed with his team’s loss to Neptune but with Eanna struggling big time this season they should be good enough to secure maximum points.

On Monday Ballincollig go to Killester and again with the Dublin side unbeaten after three games it could well be a potential banana skin game.

On the other side of the coin Killester are a shadow of the team that have represented this club for decades and Ballincollig should have too much artillery for them.

It goes without saying that McDonnell will have to pick it up big time and if he puts in a couple of good shifts he could be good weekend for the champions.

Career Decisions UCC Glanmire and Cork rivals Gurranbraher Credit Union Brunell will have played on the eve of this publication but both clubs have a game each to fulfill on Bank Holiday weekend.

The biggest test for Glanmire will come on Monday when they travel to play leaders Waterford Wildcats.

Coach Mark Scannell is due to announce the signing of a Bosman player and they will need all hands on deck against a Wildcats side who look to be well ahead of the pack in this campaign.

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell will host St Paul’s Kilarney at the GCU Arena on Monday (1pm) and nothing short of a season best will suffice against their Kerry opponents.