BASKETBALL: Just when it appeared Killester were charging to the top of the ESB Superleague they stumbled heavily to UCD Marian on Saturday and thus lost the chance to close the gap further on leaders Waterford.

Waterford, in contrast, maintained their momentum after a hard fought battle against Tolka Rovers. Tolka only scored 14 points in the first quarter but turned it around to go in level at half-time on 44 points.

From then on, however, the home side was in control and moved away in the third quarter and maintained the lead until the end, winning out 86-81. They were led again by John Singleton on 30 points and now stand four points clear of both Killester and Tralee in the table.

Killester fell to a 91-77 defeat in a game that was always dominated by UCD Marian.

Trailing 43-38 at the turnaround, Killester simply failed to hit their stride and despite the best efforts of Eric Jackson and Chris Davis they couldn't get themselves in front.

Elsewhere there was an important 97-88 win for Tralee over Star of the Sea to keep up their pressure on the leaders.

There were also wins for Limerick, who beat Sligo 97-93, away, where Cleotis Browne had this weekend's highest score with 39 points. They were on court again yesterday and with a 106-88 win over Tyrone moved into a three-way tie for second place.

Notre Dame won the three-point shoot-out against Neptune to notch up just their fifth win of the season, ending it 92-21. St Vincent's continue their fine run with a 109-95 win against Killarney, led by top-scorer Mick Richardson on 26 points.

In the women's league, the leaders Wildcats slipped up, losing to a well-deserved UL win 64-58 which makes the league table look at little more interesting. Tolka had a comprehensive 84-32 win over league rookies Glanmire and there was also a rare 71-52 win for Meteors over Killester, who were missing Sinead Vaughan and Emer Brophy.