Preview: Belfast Star hoping “three times is the charm” against joint-league leaders Ballincollig in the Domino’s Men’s Super League

The regular season of the Domino’s Men’s Super league concludes this weekend with a lot of factors still yet to be decided before the playoff stages arrive. Belfast Star were replaced by Ballincollig after last week’s loss to Killester. Ballincollig lead the table on a head to head advantage over Star. The joint-top sides face each other in the final game, where the winner will be declared regular season champions.

Elsewhere, the fight against relegation also goes down to the final weekend, Killorglin travel to UL Arena to take on Limerick Celtics after suffering a heart-wrenching defeat midweek to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in a 91-90 loss following a late tip-in from Eoin Quigley. Energywise Ireland Neptune will look to take a step towards survival when they host UCD Marian before they play a rescheduled fixture against Éanna in the final game on Monday. Killester will look to potentially move into second should Belfast Star lose on Saturday when they take on EJ Sligo All-Stars. Griffith College Éanna welcome Garvey’s Tralee Warriors with both sides comfortable in their positions and UCC Demons host St. Vincent’s on Sunday afternoon.

It is winner takes all in the MTU Arena on Saturday when Ballincollig host Belfast Star. Star lost their advantage at the summit after falling to defeat last weekend against Killester. Star will be aiming to take the top spot back for themselves heading into the playoffs with defeat this weekend potentially leaving them out of the top two altogether should Killester defeat Sligo. Star head coach Adrian Fulton has said he hopes Irish international Rapolas Buivydas will be fit to return this weekend after missing last weekend’s defeat.

Speaking ahead of this weekend, Fulton added “ Wouldn’t it be great if this game in a packed MTU decided the Super League champions? We absolutely would have taken this at the start of the season. Ballincollig have had a great season and we are very much looking forward to the challenge.”

Fulton continued “ We have played out two really exciting games against Ballincollig this season already, but hoping that three times is the charm and that we can come out on the right side of this one”.

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For Ballincollig, last weekend’s win over Killorglin displayed the resilience in the side, fending off several comeback attempts to secure the victory. They will be hoping to secure a regular season trophy double, after winning the Domino’s MSL National Cup in January. Player/Coach Ciaran O’Sullivan is excited for the game this weekend.

When asked about the game against Star, O’Sullivan replied “ With the regular season winding down, the playoffs coming around the corner, every team is going all out to climb the table and find their rhythm. After two massive battles against Star already this year, we are expecting the same high-intensity again. Both teams really seem to bring out the best in each other, which is exactly the kind of challenge you want to ensure you are battle-tested for a playoff quarter-final”.

Killester will hope to take advantage of any slip-up by Belfast Star this weekend by securing a final round triumph over EJ Sligo All-Stars on Saturday. If Star lose to Ballincollig on Saturday, a win for Killester would give them a second-place finish ahead of Star on a head to head advantage, defeating Star on both occasions this season.

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EJ Sligo All-Stars are playing to ensure a ninth place finish ahead of defending champions UCC Demons. The final playoff spot, currently occupied by Limerick Celtics, can’t be taken by the All-Stars due to Celtics having the luxury of the head to head advantage should both sides end the season on the same amount of wins.

Flexachem KCYMS will look to move towards safety in the Domino’s Men’s Super league when they head to Limerick to face the Celtics on Saturday evening. Killorglin were seconds away from a vital win midweek against the Warriors with a late step back three from Eche Okeke giving them a 90-89 lead. However, a tip-in with five seconds left from Eoin Quigley saw Warriors run out 91-90 winners in the Kerry derby. They now have one game less than Neptune left to play, however Neptune’s game in hand will commence with them down 22-4.

Limerick Celtics have had their playoff status confirmed for a few weeks now after defeating defending champions UCC Demons to eliminate them from playoff contention. As it stands, Celtics will begin their playoff run away to Ballincollig in a battle of two family-ran clubs. Celtics could however, finish as high as seventh, should results elsewhere result in a four-way tie between Celtics, Marian, Vincent’s and Warriors.

Energywise Ireland Neptune have two games this weekend to save their status in the Domino’s Men’s Super League. On Saturday, Neptune host UCD Marian, who will be hoping to secure a fifth-place finish as they head to the playoffs. Marian will finish fifth if they secure a win and Garvey’s Tralee Warriors lose this weekend.

Neptune will then play out the final game of the Domino’s Men’s Super League regular season as they play Griffith College Éanna on Monday evening. The game will start off midway through the first quarter, with Éanna starting with a 22-4 lead as that was when play was stopped in the original fixture. Should Killorglin see defeat against Celtics on Saturday, Neptune need one win from their final two games to ensure survival.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors will be looking to seal a fifth place finish this weekend when they travel to Coláiste Éanna to face Griffith College Éanna on Saturday. Should the table remain a three-way tie between Marian, Warriors and Vincent’s, Warriors will hold the head to head advantage, having won all four of their games against the other two sides combined.

Éanna’s playoff spot is locked in, having a two-win cushion on the sides below them as they take the final home court playoff spot for the quarter-finals. Should the table remain unchanged, this will be a preview of the quarter-final in the playoffs in two weeks’ time as Éanna will host Warriors again.

St. Vincent’s could be making moves either up or down the table in the Domino’s Men’s Super League. As they travel to the Mardyke Arena to play UCC Demons. Should UCD Marian and Warriors lose this weekend, a win for Vincent’s would see them go fifth from their current projected seventh-place finish. However, a loss at Demons could see them fall to eighth should Limerick Celtics triumph over Killorglin.

Defending champions UCC Demons have already seen their reign come to an end as they will not make the playoffs this season after the loss to Celtics confirmed their fate. They could overtake EJ Sligo All-Stars in ninth if they beat Vincent’s and Sligo fail to beat Killester.

All of the permutations in the Domino’s Men’s Super League will unfold this weekend live and exclusively on BITV.