The Men’s Super League rolls into round two with the first double-game weekend of the 2024/25 season. Teams will play on Saturday and Sunday, raising the potential for an early shake up in the table.
Champions Griffith College Éanna couldn’t have started life much better after defeating Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU 75-56, without the injured Sean Jenkins. Head coach Darren McGovern was pleased to leave Cork with a win but will be aware that performance levels will need to improve against Bright St. Vincent’s and Maree BC this weekend, if they’re to sustain their early momentum.
Maree enter the weekend after being sanctioned by the National League Committee (NLC) following a charge of attempting to register players using falsified documents. The Galway side edged out Templeogue 79-77 on tip-off weekend, thanks to a Zvonimir Cutuk bucket with 16 seconds left on the clock. They welcome another unbeaten side in Killester to the Kingfisher Arena on Saturday evening.
EJ Sligo All-Stars are the final team in the National League to begin their season, as John Carroll travels to face Irish international team-mate Jordan Blount’s Flexachem KCYMS in his Men’s Super League bow. Another Irish international will oppose him for his home debut. Adrian O’Sullivan takes Ballincollig to the banks of the Garavogue on Sunday afternoon.
There’ll be a feverish atmosphere in Kerry on Saturday evening when Garvey’s Tralee Warriors host Templeogue in their home opener. New signing Gregorio Adon led them to a signature win on the road against UCC Demons in round one and they will be favourites to extend their unbeaten start to the season in the Sports Complex.
“Mark is going through a transition up there,” said Warriors head coach John Dowling. “He’s trying to bring a lot of young players through,which is a difficult task. Mark has done a good job in the last year with them, they have two excellent pros which is what you need with a young group. Mark is an excellent coach so he will have them well drilled and their Americans are excellent scorers, so they’ll improve as the season goes on. We’ll not take them for granted as nobody will with us,” he added.
Their opponents on Sunday, Killester are the fifth and final undefeated team in action on Saturday – with Energywise Ireland Neptune not taking to the court until Sunday afternoon. Kason Harrell began year two in North Dublin with 28 points and 7 rebounds in a 104-point team performance against Bright St. Vincent’s a week ago. His tandem with Isiah Dasher looks as if it’ll be a major problem for teams around the league this season.
Elsewhere, UCD Marian will look to pick up their first win on their return to the top flight when they welcome UCC Demons to Nord Anglia on Saturday, before making the trip to Cork to play the aforementioned Energywise Ireland Neptune less than 16 hours later, while one of Belfast Star or Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU will start Sunday 0-2 following their meeting in MTU Arena on Saturday afternoon.