Ballina aim to make giant leap

Basketball: Ballina have a chance to take a giant leap towards the play-offs with a weekend trip to Dublin to face Killester and St Vincent's - the two teams above them in the Northern Conference.

The Mayo club are third in the table after overcoming a mid-season slump but it took some changes before they rediscovered the winning formula. Coach Seán McHale showed his bottle over Christmas by replacing key American figure Laurence Young with Elijah Warren.

The gamble paid off with Warren producing an improved return thahis predecessor in the post-holiday revival that saw them overtake UCD.

Two victories will push them into second place in the table, two points behind Killester with a game in hand.

It sounds straightforward but with Young, now with Killester, staring his old team-mates down at the IWA on Saturday night it will be far from an elementary return.

Also, St Vincent's are the form team in the country at present and will target Sunday's match as a chance to go top of the conference. The challenge becomes even greater considering Ballina are carrying some highly influential yet old legs in Liam McHale and Deora Marsh, while Ronan McGarrity is on the GAA All-Stars tour to Hong Kong.

If events don't go Ballina's way UCD could turnaround their campaign as they face Neptune at home before travelling across town to face bottom club Shamrock Rovers Hoops on Sunday.

The GAA and basketball have had a close relationship over the years but as McGarrity's absence shows the dominant force will always be the national sport.

At least the Tralee Tigers can welcome back Micheál Quirke and Kieran Donaghy after their football duties were momentarily curtailed until the National League after Kerry were knocked out of the McGrath Cup last week by Tipperary.

The Tigers go to Belfast tomorrow to face Star of the Sea on the Jordanstown campus. Star are having a nightmare season with just four wins from 13 outings and if they don't stop the rot they will be overtaken by Rovers. Former Irish international Adrian Fulton is out with a wrist injury but Solomon Sheard will make his debut.

The National Cup finals take place next weekend at the ESB Arena in Tallaght where all the national coaches will also take the opportunity to meet up.

WEEKEND FIXTURES:Men's Superleague: Saturday: Waterford v Killarney Lakers, Waterford IT, 7.30; Star of the Sea v Tralee Tigers, UU Jordanstown, 7.15; UCD v Neptune, Belfield SC, 7.30; Killester v Ballina, IWA, 8.0; Limerick v UCC Demons, UL Arena, 7.30. Sunday: Shamrock Rovers Hoops v UCD, ESB Arena, 3.15; St Vincent's v Ballina, St Vincent's, 3.15.

Women's Superleague: Saturday: St Paul's v UL Aughinish, Presentation, 7.30; Mercy Coolock v Drimnagh, Mercy Beaumont, 6.30; Waterford Wildcats v Glanmire, Mercy Waterford, 7.30; Killester v Meteors, IWA, 6.0.