Belfast Star maintain grip on Domino's Men's Super League

Belfast Star maintained their narrow one game lead atop the Domino’s Men’s Super League with a double-digit win over Flexachem KCYMS ahead of the second round of fixtures on Bank Holiday weekend.

Wins for Griffith College Éanna and Garvey’s Tralee Warriors on the road moved them into second and third respectively, while Ejs Sligo All-Stars and Ballincollig also picked up wins to climb into the top half of the table.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors made it three successive wins on the back of a sensational performance from Irshaad Hunte in a back-and-forth contest with Limerick Celtics. Hunte struck 34 points and 20 rebounds in a game where the lead changed hands 19 times. AJ Williams was the lead scorer for a now 1-3 Celtics outfit, who also enjoyed strong contributions from Irish duo Finn Hughes with 18 and Ruairi Cronin with 16.

Ballincollig are another team finding their rhythm after an 0-2 start and their 86-71 win over UCD Marian brought them back to .500 for the year. The starting trio of Adrian O’Sullivan, Josh Steel and Latrell Jossell all continued their fine form as they scored 50 of Ballincollig’s 86 points. O’Sullivan dropped 18 points with seven rebounds, Steel had 14 points and Jossell scored 18. For UCD Marian, it was the case of a Jeckyl and Hyde display, as they led by 17 in the first half and took an eight-point lead into the half-time break. Both sides are now tied up at 2-2 with Ballincollig in fourth and Marian in fifth.

Energywise Ireland Neptune suffered a fourth straight defeat against Griffith College Éanna in a 94-80 loss. Mikah Blackwell and Kristijan Andabacka both scored over 20 points for Éanna as they got some relief on the injury front with the return of Neil Lynch and Irish international Sean Jenkins to re-enforce a squad that looks to compete this year at the top. The win sees Éanna go to second in the standings whilst the loss keeps Neptune at the foot of the table as they travel to Limerick to take on the Celtics in their second game of the weekend on Monday.

Belfast Star remained the only undefeated side in the Domino’s Men’s Super League as they handed Flexachem KCYMS a second straight loss in a 90-77 win for Belfast on Saturday night. Rapolas Buivydas continued his fine form with 27 points on 34 efficiency for Star. For Killorglin, they now fall to 2-2 from a game where four players scored in double digits for the Kerry side. They will look to make it 3-2 on Monday as they face St. Vincent’s.

Elsewhere, Ejs Sligo All-Stars bounced back from a disappointing result a week ago, as they won 101-88 against a  St. Vincents team that falls into the bottom three in the standings with a 1-3 record. Sligo had three players with at least 20 point double-doubles in the game. Christian Williams had 23 points with 10 rebounds, John Carroll had 23 points with 14 rebounds and Ryell Rodney Etyle-Rock had 21 points on 21 efficiency. Sligo travel to Éanna on Monday whilst Vincent’s host Killorglin looking to get out of the bottom half of the table.

There is one game remaining in the first round of two loads of games with defending champions UCC Demons looking to recover their start to the season as they host the 2-1 Killester on Sunday afternoon in the Mardyke Arena.