NEPTUNE'S star American, Mario Mullen, was back in full training during the week after suffering ligament damage in the shock, semi final defeat against Delta Notre Dame last Saturday night.
Mullen lay on the floor in some distress after turning on the ankle near the Delta basket with nine minutes to go in the game. Although he quickly reappeared off the bench after resting the damaged foot, he failed to score from play or make an impact in the closing minutes as Delta completed their remarkable comeback after trailing by 19 points.
Fortunately Mullen will be in action as the two sides meet again in the league tomorrow at the Neptune Stadium in Cork, where the home side will be favoured to exact revenge. Judging by the mood of the Delta captain and coach, Anthony Jenkins, however, it will not be easy for the Corkmen, who looked ragged and dispirited in the face of Delta's brilliant second half performance a week ago. "There's a lot more things that this side can achieve and do," said Jenkins after the game. "I haven't given up on the league and we're going down to Neptune knowing that we can beat them again.
Jenkins would appear to be over optimistic with regard to his belief that Delta can pick up a 10 point deficit on the leading two teams so late in the season. However, there is no doubt that his side are very hard to beat in their current form, and they will surely be targeting a Top Four competition place, for which there is tremendous rivalry among the midtable teams.
Jenkins revealed after the win over St Vincent's in the final that he had been really struggling with his fitness in the days before the cup play offs, but had successfully kept it quiet. He barely trained at all in the days before the semifinal due to an Achilles tendon injury, which saw him limping within minutes of the final buzzer on Sunday.
He also had a nasty eye infection which threatened his vision, but fortunately both complaints cleared up sufficiently to allow him lead his team both as player and coach in a manner that earned him the MVP award in the men's cup.
It remains to be seen what effect the semi final defeat has had on the joint league leaders, Neptune. The defeat by Delta was their second in a fortnight, having won their previous 12 games in a row.
Tomorrow's contest will be the last in which they will have Gordon Fitzgerald available to them, as he undergoes a hernia operation next Wednesday.
Neptune can ill afford to lose again this weekend, as the joint leaders, Star of the Sea who didn't qualify for the cup, will be well rested for their game away to bottom of the table Queen's Annadale.
Just as cup semi finalists Neptune and Delta meet for the second time in a week, the participants in the other semi final last Friday, St Paul's and St Vincent's, meet again in the league tomorrow. Any tenuous hopes that St Vincent's have of winning the league depend on repeating their victory over the Killarney side in Kerry tomorrow.
In Division One, the MSB "dream team" lost their American Ben Batory last week to a club in the Maltese League. Sean Bell, the former Sligo American, is a possible replacement ahead of the Dublin derby game against Tridents tomorrow.
Ballina are home to St Mary's, Castleisland, in the big game of the weekend roster, and the Mayo men will be mindful that they lost to the Kerry side before Christmas.
With the meeting of Naomh Mhuire and Meteors postponed until Friday next, when it will be part of a televised double bill, only one of the title challengers in the women's league, Wildcats, are in action this weekend. The Waterford side can take an outright lead in the table if they win at home to Tolka Rovers tomorrow.
