If there were any lingering doubts about Neptune's dominating run to the ESB Superleague title, then two of their most convincing victories all season have finally dismissed them.
On Saturday the Cork team hammered Burger King Limerick with a second half display that saw them out-score the home side 65-29. The fact that Limerick led by three points at the half-way stage is only worth mentioning in passing, because for the rest of the game there was only one team in it. Neptune ran out more than comfortable winners, 107-74.
That added to their equally emphatic 78-63 victory over Cork rivals Esat Telecom Demons less than 24 hours previously. The third quarter domination, as has been their pattern all season, was crucial on both occasions and was inspired for the most part by Rasuel McKune and Jon D'Orlando.
Limerick had enjoyed most of the early scoring in Saturday's encounter. Kareem Lewis and Rock Winston helped them build their 45-42 half-time lead but D'Orlando (who ended up with 27 points) and Ricardo Leonard (who scored 18 points) made sure the leaders came through comfortably. Even with a slightly off day, McKune was next best scorer with 15 points.
This double victory extended Neptune's lead to 10 points at the top of the table, with the battle for second spot now shared by four teams - Denny Notre Dame, St Vincent's, the Demons, and defending champions Star of the Sea.
Notre Dame, who had dropped a surprising two points on Friday to Tolka Rovers, returned to court yesterday to defeat Killester 101-87. Remarkably, they stayed with the starting five of Eric Blair, Anthony Jenkins, Ciaran Dempsey, Tony McDonagh and Brian Benjamin for almost the entire game. Killester, who had lead by eight at the half, still saw Calvin Morris score a game-high of 29 points, testimony to his performance.
Equally impressive yesterday were St Vincent's who defeated Dungannon 81-69, handing them their second loss of the weekend. It was even more comfortable for Star of the Sea, however, as they sent bottom-placed Sligo Dairies home with a 98-75 loss.
In the women's Superleague, Tolka Rovers were upset 64-62 by Killester - proving that all good things do indeed come to an end. Even with their first defeat of the season, however, Tolka are still assured of the title.
No such surprises though for second placed Avonmore Wildcats. Their 93-21 win over Crusaders keeps them secure in the runner-up position while forcing Crusaders to remain on one win from 16 games.
