Domino’s Men’s Super League Week Two Preview

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Week one of the Domino’s Men’s Super League is now in the books with high-octane action on display across the nation. Wins for defending champions and new faces are the stories of the weekend. But now we look ahead to next slate of action coming your way this weekend on basketballireland.tv .

Big wins for Belfast and UCD gave both sides a comfortable start to the season, whereas sides like Limerick Celtics and UCC Demons had thrilling battles on their hands to earn wins over Ballincollig and Energywise Ireland Neptune respectively.

Ireland international Jordan Blount picked up where he left off last season as KCYMS defeated Tralee Warriors on Saturday evening. Killester also cruised to a 24-point victory over St. Vincent’s led by the duo of Josh Wilson and Robert Braswell who combined for 52. All of these teams will be looking to go 2-0 whilst others will be hoping to bounce back to 1-1 this weekend.

Ballincollig BC v St. Vincent’s BC, Saturday, 4pm

Ballincollig will feel they’re hard done by to be entering week two looking to go 1-1 after a heart-breaking loss in the final seconds to Limerick Celtics last Saturday evening. The newly-added trio of Josh Steel, Latavious Mitchell and Latrell Jossell all had strong showings, with Mitchell scoring 12 and adding 15 rebounds, Jossell dropped a game-high 23 points and Steel had an all-around solid game with 12pts, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Dropping to 0-2 wouldn't be fatal this early in the season, but their margin for error would be getting quite small a lot sooner than head coach Ciaran O'Sullivan would like. 

Dominos Men's Super League rookie head coach Michael Olson had a rude awakening on tip-off weekend, watching his St. Vincent's side shipping a 24-point loss to 2025 runners-up Killester. Maintaining safety is paramount for the Glasnevin outfit and there were hints of positivity that results will turn going forward. Jaylyn Richardson was the standout of the game for the men in blue with a 19-point performance, followed by new addition from Portlaoise, James Phelan who added 12 points and 5 assists.

With both teams starting with winless, it’s sure to be an intense encounter as neither side will want to open their 2025/26 Domino's Men's Super League account with two defeats in a row.

Energywise Ireland Neptune v Belfast Star, Saturday, 6:30pm

Adrian Fulton had a dream return as head coach of Star with a huge victory over EJ Sligo All-Stars and will be looking to continue their good start with a journey to Cork to take on Neptune. Belfast had their foot on the gas from the opening tip against Sligo, leading every minute of the game and taking home the biggest victory of the weekend with a 36-point win. New signing Shane Bell had himself a game to introduce himself to the Star faithful with a game-leading 38 points. He followed that up with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals to take over the game himself. Star managed this despite Rapolas Buivydas not finding his scoring touch on debut in his new home floor, a sign that when it fully clicks, this team is going to be scary for opposing defences. 

As for Neptune, they were in an all out-battle with rivals UCC Demons in the opening showcase of the Domino's Men's Super League on Friday. Neptune led by as much as 12 at one stage but the strength of the defending champions Demons was just too much to handle as they ran out 115-105 victors in Mardyke. For Neptune, it was all about how this new-look side were going to fare with big additions both on and off the court. New guard Cameron Glover hit 33 points along with 5 boards and 5 assists as he was flanked by a 25-point showing from Zyon Dobbs and 10 points plus 7 rebounds for Nil Sabata - who unfortunately picked up a shoulder injury that could see him miss significant time.

Star will be looking to continue their dominance and certify themselves as a rela threat to the throne this season and make it two wins from two on Saturday. Neptune need to continue the high-powered offense we saw against UCC Demons and hope that it will convert into a win to get head coach Keith Daly off the mark.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors v UCD Marian, Saturday, 7pm

The Dubs are heading south-west this weekend as UCD Marian prepare to face Garvey's Tralee Warriors in Kerry on Saturday evening. Tralee are coming off of an 83-76 derby loss to KCYMS in Killorglin last weekend. Irshaad Hunte led from the front for the Warriors with 22 points and 12 rebounds. But after a cagey opening quarter, Killorglin started to press on a bit more and ultimately took home the bragging rights in Kerry for now.

As for Marian, they went home with a very impressive team win against Griffith College Éanna on Saturday in a hotly-contested Dublin derby. Some well rounded games from Tanner Graham and Joshua Reynolds followed by huge contributions off the bench from Mihael Linde and Jack Kehoe saw UCD cruise to a 101-79 victory in the UCD Sports Centre. As convincing as UCD were it had to be the huge 18-2 run in the second quarter that really had the offense humming and settled them in for the rest of the game.

Warriors will be looking to make home advantage count on Saturday and get their season back on track but taking on a team like UCD Marian that were sharing and scoring the way they did against Éanna, will be nothing short of a tall task. UCD will be looking to go 2 for 2 and start making their intentions known for the season ahead.

Killester v Griffith College Éanna, Saturday, 7:30pm

We have another Dublin derby this weekend as Griffith College Éanna make the short trip to Killester hoping they can put out a stronger showing following a heavy defeat to UCD.

Killester on the other hand will be hoping to continue the trend as they put St. Vincent’s to the sword in a huge win driven by former Éanna guard Josh Wilson and Florida native Robert Braswell IV. Braswell put his stamp on Super League ball in week one with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Wilson warmed up for his reunion with Éanna with 23 points of his own along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Griffith College Éanna did not enjoy their entry to the 2025/26 season with UCD taking the win from them last Saturday. Sean Jenkins and James Gormley were the driving force for Éanna as they started well in the first half but the offence began to falter as the game went on. The UCD offence proved to just be too strong in the fourth as they extended the lead to 22 points and gave Griffith College Éanna an 0-1 record to begin their season.

Former champions Éanna will be hoping to rediscover their form in Killester this Saturday while Killester will be looking to hope Josh Wilson has no problems putting down his old side and go 2-0 in the Super League.

EJ Sligo All-Stars v Limerick Celtics, Saturday, 7:30pm

Newly-promoted Limerick Celtics make the long trip up to Sligo this weekend to face EJ Sligo All-Stars after what can only be described as a dream start to life in the Domino’s Super League following a last-gasp win over Ballincollig in UL Arena on Saturday night.

The home side will be hoping to fare better this time out after the heaviest loss of the weekend to Belfast on Saturday. All-Stars had decent showings from the trio of Ja’zere Noel, John Carroll and Elijah Faapito who all combined for 40 points. Sligo will be hoping their new look side will start to gel quickly as they welcome a Celtics side who made themselves known in the Super League quite quickly.

Celtics came out the right side of a thriller in UL on Saturday night with an 88-87 victory led by the returning AJ Williams and Abdul Wurie. Plus the added threat of newly-acquired American Austin Rotroff, who added 20 points and 14 rebounds of his own. But it was a returning Celtics in Finn Hughes who hit a jumper with 16 seconds left on the clock that edged the Limerick side over the line.

As unknown as the Celtics are in the Super League and how well they will turn out, the same can be said for a Sligo side that have as many as six new faces added to their rotation this season.

UCC Demons v Flexachem KCYMS, Sunday, 3pm

In the only Sunday fixture of the weekend, we also have the only game with both sides looking to go 2-0 this season as Flexachem KCYMS travel to UCC to face the defending champion Demons.

KCYMS took home a great win in the Kerry derby after beating Tralee Warriors by 7 points led by Jordan Blount. Blount scored 26 points and had 13 rebounds as KCYMS went 1-0. Coming from Sweden, Rami Ghanem also made a big contribution with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

As for UCC Demons, They kicked off the league with a 115-110 triumph over Neptune with huge performances by a number of players in blue. Shariff Black was an assist away from a triple double as he dropped 25 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Tala Fam Thiam, James Hannigan and a bench helping from Scott Hannigan scored a total of 51 between the three of them.

UCC will be hoping to continue to have a strong defence of their Super League title and remain unbeaten where as KCYMS will be looking to upset the party and keep their own perfect record when they travel to Cork on Sunday.