The reigning champions Neptune, currently bottom of the Budweiser Superleague, are almost sure to register new American Tye Field in time for tomorrow's home game against St Vincent's in Cork.
Neptune will also have last season's star Irish player, Gordon Fitzgerald, back after a six month tour of army duty in the Lebanon, while Tom O'Sullivan plays for the second time since his comeback from retirement.
The additions to the squad are bound to strengthen the Cork club who regard their winless start to the season as something of an embarrassment.
They have real hope though that the six feet eight inch Field, who weighs in at over 18 stone, will be the answer to their problems.
Rather than rely on the information grapevine of basketball agents to determine his playing credentials, the club consulted the internet to find his statistics with San Diego University and they were suitably impressed with his figures as a rebounder and scorer.
Neptune have no shortage of outside scoring threats in their line-up but they badly need a useful inside target player who can play strong defence. Their first two short-term recruits, Chris Ward and Paul Hodges, did not quite measure up to the task required of them.
Field only returned to America a fortnight ago after a stint playing in the highly competitive Latvian league and it is expected that he will be match fit even though he only arrived in Ireland yesterday.
The two big Superleague matches this weekend are in Dublin tomorrow when joint-leaders Notre Dame and Star of the Sea will be in action. Notre Dame will be expected to defeat third-placed Dungannon whose early season run form - three league victories from four starts - came to an abrupt end in the first round of the Sprite Cup last week when they were well beaten by Division One side Tolka Rovers.
Star of the Sea are likely to have a more testing time away to UCD-Marian. When the teams met in the cup at Belfield last week, Star needed late free throws from Adrian Fulton to secure a narrow 87-83 victory.
In another repeat of a cup tie from a week ago, Killester play Tralee in Kerry tomorrow night. The Dublin club will be happy to have Gary Dredge back from injury after missing the defeat in Clontarf last Saturday.
In the only other Superleague game, the tall strong-looking Ballina squad are likely to prove too strong for St Paul's Killarney in Killala tomorrow.
Last week's first round cup tie in Kerry between Castleisland and St Vincent's is currently the subject of an appeal to the national competitions committee (NCC) by the Kerry club after they lost 91-90.
Castleisland claim to have video evidence which they insist proves that a three-pointer from Tom Fleming, which would have won them the game, was, in fact, executed before the final buzzer.
Senior referee Tony Colgan thought otherwise and disallowed the score on the basis that the match was over before Fleming released the shot.
The NCC have the referee's and commissioner's report but are still awaiting video evidence to be provided by Castleisland. It is thought that such evidence would have to be 100 per cent conclusive for the decision of a referee of Colgan's experience to be questioned, let alone overturned.
In the ESB women's Superleague this weekend little change is expected at the top of the table with the leaders Wildcats, Meteors and Naomh Mhuire expected to win comfortably. Second place Tolka Rovers have a rest weekend.
