A top of the table clash is in store in the Basketball Ireland Men's Super League this weekend as Garvey's Tralee Warriors welcome UCD Marian to the complex in Tralee.
Warriors took control at the top of the table after the bank holiday weekend, securing a big win on the road on Saturday evening against Pyrobel Killester and winning out over Éanna at home on Bank Holiday Monday. Their road to the top was helped by DCU Saints overcoming Griffith College Swords Thunder, and now just UCD Marian stands in their way.
Marian come into the match with a game in hand on Tralee – the Dublin side with five wins and one loss, while the Kerry team have six wins and one loss.
The teams match up well across the floor, with Marian bigger than last year inside, and set to pose problems for Tralee's Dusan Bogdanovic and Goran Pantovic. However, the Dubliners will have to work extra hard to close down the threat of Trae Pemberton, who has been top-scoring in recent weeks.
Home crowd
"Saturday against Tralee will be like another final for us – it's against a really good team and in front of a huge home crowd," said Marian head coach Ioannis Liapakis.
“We are really looking forward to the game, but we haven’t forgotten that we lost twice to them last year, so we know it will be tough.”
It’s a busy weekend of games all round, with another interesting clash set to tip off at Colaiste Éanna on Saturday evening as hosts Éanna welcome UCC Demons in what is set to be a very close and competitive game.
Elsewhere, DCU Saints will welcome KUBS, Black Amber Templeogue make the trip up to Belfast Star, Pyrobel Killester will go head-to-head with Maree, while Moycullen will welcome Griffith College Swords Thunder to Galway.
Big clashes
There are also some big clashes in store in the Women's Super League this weekend, with DCU Mercy and Ambassador UCC Glanmire one of the picks of the weekend when they go head-to-head at DCU on Sunday. DCU are coming into the game off the back of a tough two-point loss to Courtyard Liffey Celtics last weekend, while Glanmire will be hoping to keep their unbeaten streak intact.
Elsewhere, Pyrobel Killester will welcome Maxol WIT Wildcats to the IWA on Saturday evening as part of a double-header with their men’s team, and Singleton SuperValu Brunell will face off against IT Carlow Basketball on Sunday.
The Galway Masters is also tipping off at NUIG this weekend.
