Ballincollig edge Limerick Celtics to advance in Domino’s Men’s Super League play-offs

Ballincollig have progressed to the semi-finals of the Domino’s Men’s Super League Playoffs after a 91-83 triumph over Limerick Celtics in the MTU Arena on Saturday. Despite holding the lead for the majority of the first and second quarters, Celtics ran them close a few times, with Ballincollig only building a double-digit lead heading into the half-time break.

The third quarter is where Ballincollig started to assert dominance, with Latavious Mitchell scoring eight of his 20 points in the third quarter. Ballincollig entered the fourth quarter with a 75-58 lead. Celtics showed resilience as the final quarter commenced, starting off the fourth with a 10-0 run through an Eoghan Donaghy three, followed by scores from Tony Hauser and AJ Williams. Ballincollig held on for the remainder of the fourth with Latrell Jossell getting eight of his 19 in the final five minutes of action to give Ballincollig the win.

Ballincollig now set up a semi-final at home to Griffith College Éanna, following Éanna’s victory over Warriors on Saturday.

Killester picked up a dominant 98-77 win over St. Vincent’s on Saturday night to set up a date with Belfast Star next weekend. It was a team effort from Killester with five players in double digits. Josh Wilson had a team-high 19, followed by 18 for Robert Braswell, 16 for Paul Dick along with 13 each from Baptiste Chazelas and Farouq Raheem.

Killester lead 34-17 with just over seven minutes left in the 2nd quarter 👊

A place in the semi-finals of the Domino's Men's Super League on the line.#DominosMSL | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/rUaEkBg8UR

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) March 21, 2026

The Vincent’s squad went down fighting despite the loss of head coach Michael Olson during the week leading up to the game due to visa issues. James Phelan scored a game-high 27 points along with Will Thomas, who scored 22. Vincent’s had rattled Killester earlier in the game, with a 32-point second quarter to reduce what was a 14-point lead after the first quarter for Killester, down to eight points at half-time. Killester responded well in the second-half, with Wilson and Chazelas scoring 23 of their combined 32 between the third and fourth quarters to send Killester through to the semis.

Killester will play Belfast Star in the IWA in the semi-finals, after their win on Sunday afternoon.

Griffith College Éanna made it back to back wins in consecutive weeks over Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, with an 87-72 triumph in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Jaylyn Richardson’s fine season in Ireland continued with a 24-point, nine rebound showing, accompanied by a 14-point, 13-rebound, double-double from Irish international James Gormley.

Despite a fast start by the visitors, which saw a finish from Olaf Michalczuk give Warriors a 22-15 lead inside the final two minutes of the opening period, it was Éanna who were ahead after a quarter of action, with a 9-2 run in the final two minutes giving them an early edge. Éanna maintained control for the majority of the game, leading by 15 after the second quarter reached its conclusion. The third and fourth quarter was more of the same despite early pressure in the third from Warriors. Éanna managed to hold their 15-point advantage once the game had hit its climax to send them through to next week’s round of semi-final ties.

Éanna travel to Cork to take on Ballincollig hoping to pick up their first win of the season against the league leaders, after losing 97-96 away from home being followed by a nine-point loss in Éanna back in February.

Belfast Star booked their spot in the semi-finals with a 91-69 victory over UCD Marian on Sunday. Shane Dezonie was the leading scorer for Star, getting 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Roger Wilson and Conor Quinn combined for 35 points in a big supporting showing behind Dezonie's performance.

Star showed their dominance from early on, not falling behind after the second minute of the game. A 31-point first quarter put Star well on their way to victory, taking a 52-39 lead into the half-time break after a second quarter where Conor Quinn scored eight of his 19 points to extend Star's lead.

Marian struggled with the pressure from Star as the third quarter began, with Ronan Byrne doing his best to try and keep Marian in the game, scoring a team-high 22 points in the game, five of which came in the third. After an improved final quarter from Marian, it proved to be insufficient as Star would secure the victory by 22 points.

Star will now travel to Dublin to take on Killester for a place in the final of the Domino's Men's Super League Playoffs.

Also on Sunday, Flexachem KCYMS have been relegated to the Domino's Men's Division One following an 81-78 loss to Energywise Ireland Neptune in UL.

It was a cagey affair in the opening quarter, with both sides exchanging heavy hits in the paint with Neptune edging slightly ahead at 19-18 at the end of the first quarter. Neptune's shooting went ice cold in the second quarter, shooting 5-15 from the field. Killorglin really pressed on in the same quarter, with Irish international Jordan Blount running things and dished a close assist to Eche Okeke, who scored 10 of his 22 points in the second period to give Killorglin a 43-37 lead at half-time.

Neptune came out swinging in the second half, coming back with a 24-14 third quarter to move ahead and took advantage of the absence of Blount on the court after he picked up his fourth foul and was substituted. The two sides fought tooth and nail in the final quarter with the game coming down to the final two possessions of the game. After Blount fouled out, coach Declan Wall checked into the game for the final minutes of the game. Mike Hayes snuck in on the right hand side of the paint to give Neptune the 81-78 lead with 11 seconds to go on the clock. 

Following the timeout, Wall took the ball from the inbounds but had his pass intercepted by Samuel Henderson and would give Neptune the win that would retain their Domino's Men's Super League status.