The ESB Cup has a habit of throwing up surprises, but rarely have they come bigger than this weekend's victory for Mercy Coolock in the women's quarter-finals. The non-league side were given a daunting task of taking on the Wildcats - the league and cup title-holders - but they ended up coming through winners 56-54.

It was a huge shock for the Waterford club, yet Coolock were well deserving of their place in next month's celebrated cup finals weekend. Among the crucial scorers was team captain Lindsay Pete, not least of all with her three-point basket on the final buzzer.

The other non-league sides failed to get past their superior opposition, as Tolka Rovers swept past Drimnagh Dynamoes 99-66, while the University of Limerick had 28 points to spare over Firhouse Notre Dame.

The men's quarter-finals went a little more closely to form, most notably as the Superleague leaders Waterford took their expected route past Sligo.

Despite the return of Greg Burston, Sligo were unable to match the superior depth and quality of their opposition.

Waterford were a comfortable 39-39 ahead at half-time and every effort the home side made to respond was in vain. Burston eventually fouled out in the last quarter and Waterford went on to win by 22 points.

But there was a mild surprise for St Vincent's as they fell 110-95 to Limerick, who progress to the semi-final stage for the first time.

Despite leading in the early stages, St Vincent's eventually struggled to match the scoring rate of Chris Brown and BJ McFarland, and when Limerick pulled ahead in the closing minutes, the Dublin side failed to respond.