Briefs

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Killester play to strengths to prevail over UCC Demons

BASKETBALL:In the Nivea For Men's SuperLeague, Killester pulled off an all-star performance on their home court when they saw off UCC Demons.

The Cork side, who currently sit in second position on the league table, were put to the test by Killester but failed to oversee them. And with Killester’s head coach, Tom Doherty, unable to make the game, it was club favourite Jonathon Grennell that took the reins on the evening.

Across the Liffey, UCD Marian did not have as much luck when they came up against Dublin Inter.

Even with the help of their new signing Thomas Viglianco, UCD struggled to stay with the ever-resilient newcomers as they controlled the tempo from the first jump to the final whistle.

In the Nivea Women’s SuperLeague, an all-Cork derby saw Team Montenotte Hotel Cork come away with a convincing win over Singleton SuperValu Brunell.

True to form, DCU bounced back from their heart-breaking semi-final cup loss to TMH Cork as they saw off a young Killester with a nine-point win.

Mark Ingle, DCU Mercy’s head coach, admitted, “It was a ragged performance on our part but we got the win.”

France's Peterhansel celebrates 11th overall rally victory

DAKAR RALLY:French man Stephane Peterhansel celebrated his 11th overall Dakar Rally victory and a record fifth in the car category when the gruelling two-week race that started in Peru concluded in the Chilean capital on Saturday.

In a repeat of last year's results, Peterhansel's compatriot Cyril Despres celebrated victory in the motorcycle category, marking his fifth victory in the race. "This is the first time we finished the race without mechanical problems. This is the best car I've ever had," Peterhansel (47) told reporters after edging ahead of Finn Ari Vatanen for victories in the car category.

He completed the race in 36 hours, 44 minutes and 46 seconds, almost 45 minutes ahead of South Africa's Giniel de Villiers, with Russia's Leonid Novitskiy completing the podium.

Fingal beat Pembroke in Mills Cup

MEN'S HOCKEY:Pembroke's drive for five titles came to an end yesterday at a freezing ALSAA as Chris Neville's composed double saw Fingal cause a large upset in the Mills Cup quarter-finals.

Lying ninth and likely to play a relegation play-off game, Fingal have had a fairly forgettable season but have saved their best form for this competition.

Indeed, they were virtually out of the competition pre-Christmas before Andrew Shekleton fired a hat-trick in the closing eight minutes against UCD to earn a 4-3 win.

Yesterday's win, though, against the Leinster league's champions elect was another level up as they built a 3-0 lead at the airport and scarcely looked back.

Corinthian, meanwhile, took a huge step toward getting back into the Irish Hockey League when they withstood 14 penalty corners to defeat Three Rock 1-0.

O'Flanagan hat-trick seals UCD victory

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:Back in 2009 UCD confirmed their emergence as a national force in hockey when they beat Pegasus, who were going for a three-in-a-row, 4-1 in the Irish Senior Cup final. On Saturday, the cup holders further enhanced their reputation when they enjoyed an equally emphatic victory over the Belfast side in the third round of the competition, Anna O'Flanagan scoring a hat-trick in their 5-2 win.

MARY HANNIGAN