Star of the Sea shine brightly

A MERE two weeks gone in the Budweiser Men's Superleague and already there is a comforting look about the table for Danny Fulton of Star of the Sea, as his Belfast side became the third team of the weekend to top the 100 point mark when they hammered St Vincents by 103 to 70 at Maysfield.

In mitigation, the Dubliners will claim that their cause was not helped by the fact that they played the game with only one American, Torraine Sears, against a squad which can boast three full Irish internationals, not to mention their Americans as well as those eligible under the Bosman ruling. The fact that Vincents only scored four points in the opening six minutes says much about the defensive strength of Star of the Sea, while their final tally speaks volumes about their ability under the boards.

Star led by 58 to 37 at half time with Gabe Jackson and Jason Senik their top scorers with 29 and 23 respectively. Mark Richardson was top notcher for Vincents.

But Fulton will not be lulled into a false sense of security by his side's showing, as St Pauls - with Vince Duly again in devastating form - accounted for Notre Dame at the National Arena. Under the guidance of Jim Nugent, St Pauls show the fast breaking qualities that he brought to Neptune several seasons ago. And with Daly rebounding superbly and ably assisted by Nick Browning, it would be foolish to write off the Kerry side when the honours are finally decided.

Killester were the third side to top the ton, but the final score flatters the Dubliners as Queens matched them for long periods. Although Killester did stretch away to a twelve point lead at one point in the opening period, the gap was a more manageable two points at the break. However, an eye injury to Queens' Brian Lloyd midway through the second half saw him take no further part in the game and with his departure, his side fell back, eventually finishing some 38 points in arrears, 116 to 78.

The champions, Tralee Tigers, looked to be heading for a facile victory when they entertained Neptune in Tralee, as they led by 18 points at one point but they were overhauled to eventually go down by some three points and lose valuable ground to those harbouring title ambitions.

Two free throws from Sean Bell forced Sligo's game against Marian at St Michaels into overtime. Thy sides finished level at 81 apiece at the end of normal time, but Marian got their challenge back on course as they had that little bit to spare and eventually won by four points.

The Mid Sutton Baldoyle `dream team' did the business in the preliminary round of the Sprite National cup and accounted for Tolka Rovers by nine points, 105 to 96, but the major surprise of the weekend was the defeat of Dungannon, who have been knocking on the door of the Superleague for the last few seasons, by Castleisland. Things are certainly going nicely in the basketball world in Kerry.