National League

Dec 11 2025

Belfast Star looking to keep lead at top of the Domino’s Men’s Super League table

Belfast Star travel to the IWA to face Killester looking for their ninth win in ten games in the Domino's Men's Super League, but head coach Adrian Fulton admits it's "traditionally a venue we have struggled at down the years".

The Belfast side couldn’t fix their cup form after yet another early elimination in the Domino’s MSL National Cup last weekend against Ballincollig. Belfast’s offence will still be looking to keep up its league-leading pace with their 97.4 ppg average above and beyond the standout performers so far. However, they have tended to fall behind in quite a few games before the offence does get going, as shown in the Ballincollig game where the Cork side took a large lead early that Belfast couldn’t get back from.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Fulton said: “Killester are a super team and are extremely well coached. Winning in the IWA is always a huge challenge and traditionally a venue we have struggled at down the years. They have been ravaged by injuries this year ,but are almost back to full strength. We are hoping to perform to a high level for as close to the full 40 minutes as possible. If we do, we will be right in the mix coming down the stretch.”

Killester have had a rough few weeks after starting well, losing their last three games between cup and league. The issues have mainly been down to the absence of Robert Braswell and Baptiste Chazelas, along with Ciaran Roe. Chazelas and Braswell have returned in the last two weeks and there is now the hope that the squad is getting back to full fitness at just the right time as we enter the Christmas period.

Limerick Celtics seem to have found a purple patch in form after two wins in the MSL National Cup against UCC Demons and St. Vincent’s either side of just their third victory in their maiden Super League season, making it three victories in their last five games in all competiitons. New acquisition Zachary Hudson has slowly started to acclimatise to life in Ireland with 18 points and eight boards in the cup last weekend against St. Vincent’s. They will be looking to move further up the table this weekend when they host a big challenge in the form of Griffith College Éanna on Saturday.

Éanna’s form has been slightly stop-start for a few weeks with a loss coming in between each of their last three wins in the Domino's Super League. However, after an international break and a cup weekend that they didn’t feature in, the Dublin side have had a few weeks off to recharge and still find themselves in third spot in the table to this point despite the rollercoaster form.

After nine games, Energywise Ireland Neptune remain bottom of the Domino's Men's Super League table, level with only UCC Demons with 1-8 records. They will be hoping the November break will give them a fresh restart when they host Garvey’s Tralee Warriors on Saturday evening. For Tralee, they will still be on a high after what was a sensational second victory over Killester in as many weeks in the Domino’s MSL National Cup. John Dowling’s men impressed considering the losses they have had in the side.

Dowling is cautious about the upcoming game in Neptune. “It is back to league play where we certainly haven’t been at our best at times. We will definitely need a full 40 minute performance in what will be a very tough away game in Neptune", he said.

UCD Marian’s offence has found another gear in the last few games, averaging just over 96 points in their last four fixtures. The upturn in scoring has paid dividends with wins over Killester and a triple OT win against Limerick Celtics. They also scored 110 against the league leaders Belfast Star, but unfortunately saw defeat by five points. They will be hoping they can grab their sixth win of the season when they host a St. Vincent’s side who have won their last three games. There is a slight blotch on their form sheet after they suffered a 23-point defeat against Limerick Celtics last Saturday in the National Cup. Both sides have been scoring for fun in the last few weeks, but only one of them will get to six wins after this weekend with both sides locked at 5-4 in the table.

Ballincollig had a big game from Josh Steel last weekend get them into the cup semi-finals against Belfast. They will be hoping that they can get the full trio of Steel, Mitchell and Jossell firing this weekend when they travel from Cork to Kerry to face Flexachem KCYMS. Killorglin have slowly slipped down the table as of recent, winning just two games in their six league fixtures, which has left them eighth, but they could be as low as tenth after this weekend, depending on results elsewhere.

UCC Demons have had a bit of a shake-up since they last played in the league. Both Sharif Black and Jarvis Doles are no longer with the Cork side and they have since announced the signings of two new American big’s in Jordan Washington and Tamyrik Fields, who will look to hit the ground running when Demons play EJ Sligo All-Stars on Sunday. Sligo have had a mixed campaign so far, and will be looking to get their third win in their last four and start to settle in for the busy run-in over the next few weeks.

All games this weekend will be shown live on BITV.

Fixtures

Domino’s Men’s Super League

Saturday 13^th December

Energywise Ireland Neptune v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, Neptune Stadium, 6:30pm

Limerick Celtics v Griffith College Éanna, UL Arena, 7pm

UCD Marian v St. Vincent’s, UCD Sports Centre, 7pm

Flexachem KCYMS v Ballincollig, Killorglin Sports Complex, 7:15pm

Killester v Belfast Star, IWA, 7:15pm

Sunday 14^th December

UCC Demons v EJ Sligo All-Stars, Parocial Hall, 3pm

Domino’s Men’s Division One