Powerful start by Neptune

Any doubts that Neptune might not have the strength to defend their ESB-sponsored League title this season were immediately dispelled by their opening win over the Clare Jets on Saturday night.

New American signing Charron Watson had a major say in the 143-70 victory and the Cork team have made it clear to the opposition that their title won't be easily surrendered. They were 37 points clear by half-time and with Watson contributing a massive 34 points, Clare were never able to get a look in.

There was also an impressive start for Notre Dame and again their American signing appears to have been well chosen. At 6 ft, Brandon Hughes may not be the biggest man in the league but his 35-point tally in the 89-65 win over Star of the Sea yesterday suggests that he will be one of the players of the season.

The Belfast side had two players trying to mark Hughes but even that proved futile as he scored almost at will whenever the opportunity arose. Playercoach Anthony Jenkins showed no signs of slowing down with his 18-point total.

Killester have been tipped by many to become one of the main challengers this season and their 100-92 win over Limerick certainly provided the start they wanted. John Leahy and Adrian Fulton both signed up from Star of the Sea before the season started and made an immediate impact here with 30 and 18 points respectively. New American Eric Jackson was also to the fore with his 20-point tally.

Elsewhere, the Saints - formally St Vincent's - began their campaign with a closely fought 94-84 win over a much-improved Sligo. And Tralee marked their return to the top flight with an 86-81 win over the Demons.

The only game in the women's league saw the Wildcats gain an expected win over the Meteors 57-43. Jillian Hayes and Orla Dempsey led the scoring with 23 and 10 points respectively.

The highest individual score of the weekend went to Douglas Hines of St Paul's Killarney as he contributed an incredible 45 points to the 95-80 win over Tolka Rovers yesterday. The 25-year-old American signing will clearly be one of the players to watch this season.

Star of the Sea did manage to claim some points on Saturday when they produced a 102-83 victory over UCD-Marian. Kenny McFarland was their big signing coming into this season and the American certainly proved useful with a 27-point tally. Gabe Jackson is their other American element this season and he wasn't far behind with 23 points.

Also getting off to a winning start was Waterford with a 81-71 win over Dungannon.