Defending InsureMyVan.ie Super League champions Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU got off to a solid start with a narrow 89-83 derby win against Energywise Ireland Neptune. Shawndale Jones Jr. racked up a whopping 34 points in the match, 10 more than any of his colleagues or opposition.
Ciaran O'Sullivan, player/coach of Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU, said "It was great to get off to a winning start. Wins are going to be extremely hard to come by this season with the strength and depth around the league. It was wonderful to see a full house in MTU for our season opener, we played well overall but plenty of improvements to be made."
In one of the most tense and exciting games of the weekend, newly promoted Ulster University picked up an impressive 84-83 road win against last year’s InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup winners Maree. Conor Liston scored the game winning two-pointer on his InsureMyVan.ie Super League and club debut, to pick up the victory for Ryan McCormick’s side.
Speaking afterwards McCormack stated: "We were slow to get off the bus on Saturday in Galway, we played within ourselves and let Maree dictate the game to us. The second half response was exceptional from the lads. Captain Shane O'Connor got the ball rolling, and Jalen Hodge lit up for 30 second-half points. Conor Liston put the icing on the cake with the game winner, but it was a full team effort for the next man up to get in and get the job done. Credit to Assistant Coach Ciara O'Neill on the play calling down the stretch too."
Belfast Star ran out 91–75 winners against Bright St. Vincent’s with Tamyrik Fields leading the points scoring, on 39. In a Dublin derby Templeogue beat Pyrobel Killester 84-77 at the National Basketball Arena, while Griffith College Éanna opened their season with a 89-78 home victory against EJ Sligo All-Stars.
UCC Demons picked up a road win at the Killorgin Sports Complex, with a 94-76 victory over Flexachem KCYMS and Garvey’s Tralee Warriors comfortably beat Maigh Cuilinn by a 25-point margin, as it finished 90-65 at the Tralee Sports Complex.
SETU Waterford Widcats, DCU Mercy and Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell are the early pace-setters in the MissQuote.ie Super League, with each making it two from two to start the season.
SETU Waterford Wildcats ran out 99-52 winners against the Trinity Meteors, Sarah Hickey once again impressing with 31 points in their victory, while sister Kate was also singled out for praise by coach Tommy O’Mahony.
"Delighted with our performance. I thought our attitude and execution was excellent, especially in the first quarter we came out of the blocks very quickly and it set the tempo for the game, Kate Hickey was outstanding on both sides of the floor which laid the foundation for an overall good performance.", O’Mahony said.
Irish captain Edel Thornton was Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell’s top scorer, on 21 points, as they defeated University of Galway Mystics 102–64.
Head coach Liam Culloty stated: “Obviously it was a very emotional weekend for the club following the passing of our President Andrew Drumm. Everyone in the club really turned up and I know he would have been so proud of the club today. Performance-wise we were happy. Some of our offence play was very slick, but again we know defensively we need to be better.”
DCU Mercy narrowly edged out Ulster University with a 80-72 win at home, Brynley Fitzgerald registered 25 points for the victors. Pyrobel Killester picked up their first win of the season, beating Catalyst Fr. Mathews 81-67. Jiselle Thomas contributed 21 points for the Dublin club.
The MissQuote.ie Super League fixture between Portlaoise Panthers & FloMAX Liffey Celtics was postponed due to condensation on the floor.
Condensation also led to the InsureMyVan.ie Division One fixture between SETU Waterford Vikings and Limerick Celtics being halted in the third quarter. Elsewhere there were wins for Drogheda Wolves, Limerick Sport Eagles, Mater Private Malahide, Limerick Celtics, Joels Dublin Lions, Kavanagh’s Portlaoise Panthers and SETU Carlow.
In MissQuote.ie Division 1, Templeogue, iSecure Swords Thunder, Limerick Sport Huskies, St. Paul’s Killarney, McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles and Limerick Celtics all got their campaigns underway with wins.
Results
MissQuote.ie Super League Results:
Saturday, September 30th
SETU Waterford Wildcats 99-52 Trinity Meteors
Portlaoise Panthers (P)-(P) FloMAX Liffey Celtics (Postponed due to condensation)
Pyrobel Killester 81-67 Catalyst Fr. Mathews
Sunday, October 1st
DCU Mercy 80-72 Ulster University
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 102-64 University of Galway Mystics
InsureMyVan.ie Super League Results
Saturday 30th September
Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU 99-83 Energywise Ireland Neptune
Belfast Star 91-75 Bright St. Vincent’s
Griffith College Éanna 89-78 EJ Sligo All-Stars
Maree 83-84 Ulster University
Flexachem KCYMS 76-94 UCC Demons
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 90-65 Maigh Cuilinn
MissQuote.ie Division 1 Results
Saturday 30th September
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions 78–81 Templeogue
iSecure Swords Thunder 79–69 Phoenix Rockets
Limerick Sport Huskies 72–57 Moy Tolka Rovers
Sunday 1st October
SETU Carlow 50-83 St. Paul’s Killarney
McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles 77-60 Oblate Dynamos
Limerick Celtics 85-54 Marble City Hawks
InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 Results
Saturday 30th September
Team Northwest 78-97 Drogheda Wolves
Titans BC 82-100 Limerick Sport Eagles
Mater Private Malahide 80-74 Moy Tolka Rovers
SETU Waterford Vikings (P)-(P) Limerick Celtics (Postponed due to condensation)
Joels Dublin Lions 88-82 UCD Marian
Kavanagh’s Portlaoise Panthers 90-63 Killarney Cougars
Sunday 1st October
SETU Carlow 99-87 Scotts Lakers Killarney
Fixtures
MissQuote.ie Super League Fixtures:
Saturday 7th October
Catalyst Fr. Mathews v The Address UCC Glanmire, 1700, Fr. Mathews Arena
Ulster University v University of Galway Mystics, 1715, Jordanstown Sports Village
Portlaoise Panthers v Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell, 1800, St. Mary’s Hall
FloMAX Liffey Celtics v Trinity Meteors, 1900, Leixlip Amenities
Sunday 8th October
Pyrobel Killester v SETU Waterford Wildcats, 1400, Oblate Hall
InsureMyVan.ie Super League Fixtures
Saturday 7th October
Maree v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, 1800, Kingfisher Sports Arena
Bright St. Vincent’s v Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU, 1900, St. Vincents CBS
Ulster University v Templeogue, 1930, Jordanstown Sports Village
EJ Sligo All-Stars v Belfast Star, 1930, Mercy College
Sunday 8th October
Maigh Cuilinn v Flexachem KCYMS, 1500, Kingfisher Sports Arena
Pyrobel Killester v Griffith College Éanna, 1600, Oblate Hall
MissQuote.ie Division 1 Fixtures
Saturday 7th October
St Pauls Killarney v Limerick Celtics, 1630, Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre
iSecure Swords Thunder v Abbey Seals Dublin Lions, 1730, ALSAA
Templeogue v McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles, 1800, Nord Anglia International School
Moy Tolka Rovers v SETU Carlow, 1800, Tolka Rovers Sports Complex
Oblate Dynamos v Phoenix Rockets, 1900, Oblate Hall
Marble City Hawks v Limerick Sport Huskies, 1900, O’Loughlin Gaels GAA Club
InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 Fixtures
Saturday 7th October
UCD Marian v Mater Private Malahide, 1900, UCD Sports Centre
Titans BC v Moy Tolka Rovers, 1900, Knocknacarra Community Centre
Killarney Cougars v SETU Waterford Vikings, 1900, Presentation Gym
Drogheda Wolves v Joels Dublin Lions, 1930, Ballymakenny College
Scotts Lakers Killarney v Limerick Sport Eagles, 1930, Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre
Kavanagh’s Portlaoise Panthers v Team Northwest, 2000, St Mary’s Hall
Sunday 8th October
Limerick Celtics v SETU Carlow, 1515, Crescent College
