| Live from Limerick City, Its Saturday Night... |
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The University Arena will once again pull out the stands, switch on the giant scoreboard and open its doors to hundreds of eager fans as the Limerick Lions return for their first home bout of the new basketball season. Having opened their season with an away win against DCU Saints last Sunday the momentum is certainly with the Jungle Kings Sean Coffey proved instrumental as the Lions opened their campaign with a 79-60 win, the new American signing chipped in an impressive 22 of those points, he was followed on the scoring charts by Lions veteran Neil Campbell who tallied 17 points. "DCU Saints' attempt to slow down the game with a zone defence was ineffective due to Scott’s (Kinnevane – point guard) good transition game and assisting with easy points for his team. We had good offensive and defensive rebounds which gave us the opportunity to control the tempo of the game" commented Lions coach Sasa Punosevac after the match. And control the tempo they did with a healthy 12 point advantage at half time the Lions were in the driving seat. "It was a disciplined display, a good combination of outside shooting and fast breaks was the reason Limerick won," said Sasa.Turning attention to this week though and the stakes are much higher – both for the team and for the club. Last weeks match was a cross conference affair meaning that Limerick’s win had little impact on their league position (although does put them tops thanks to points difference). However this weeks opponents, Hoops, are also in Conference B meaning a win here will not only help the Lions but throw a cog in the works for Hoops. This may not seem so relevant now, but come the play offs – when the top 3 sides from either conference face off in March, could be the deciding factor in whether the Lions make the cut or get cut out. From a club perspective – they are hoping for a large turnout, a mix between established fans and newbies tagging along to see what all the fuss is about. If Limerick can keep this weekend’s match interesting and take home the three points they’d be doing a lot for their appeal among new supporters. Hoops opened at home to last years league finalists, DART Killester, but lost out by 13 points against a much stronger side. Their new recruits impressed particularly Rob Grant and Phil Taylor, but the team didn’t gel effectively and they could not get an effective rhythm going. This will be something the Lions will be looking to exploit come Saturday evening – a weakness which plagued the Lions for all too long but now, with the help of new coach Sasa, looks to have been eradicated. The Lions wont have it easy though as the new Hoops coach, Ahmed Smith (who has returned after serving as the Assistant Men’s NCAA Division One College Appalachian State since 2004) will be looking to mend any cracks in his team. Whatever the out come its going to be an intense match and in essence it’s anyone’s game. The important thing is that Superleague basketball has found its way back home – Saturday evenings inside the friendly confines of the University Arena. |
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