Basketball: Killester surely didn't think things could get worse. Well, they have. Defeat to Shamrock Rovers Hoops over the weekend leaves them facing a disastrous second half of the season. They may still make the play-offs but only a complete turnaround would bring them riches of any sort.

Eoin Darling's 13 points in the third quarter for the Hoops reduced the early advantage to two points. Then in the final quarter, with Gabe Hughes turning the screw in defence and also finishing with 26 points, Killester were flattened.

Killester should tumble into the play-offs by virtue of Neptune beating Ballina and UCD overcoming St Vincent's, giving the northern conference a tighter look. Cedric Peoples ensured Mike Trimmer and Paul Tonkovich's influence was curbed as St Vincent's recent good run ended.

With Limerick just edged out by the southern conference champions Tralee, Neptune took their chance with a three-point victory in Ballina. Stephen McCarthy was influential throughout for Neptune while Ricardo Leonard, Daveeno Hines and Michael McGinn played their parts. A depleted Neptune side made better use of their scoring opportunities whereas Ballina's shooting was off target especially in the first half and Neptune seemed to be getting all the resulting rebounds.

Elsewhere, the UCC Demons strengthened their position in second with victory over Waterford, while Rovers completed an excellent weekend with victory over Star of the Sea.

In the woman's league, Mo Akiode's 30-point haul ensured Glanmire stayed ahead of Coolock, beating the Dublin club by a single point, while Killester got their league campaign back on track with a 89-44 victory over the Wildcats with Luke shooting 30 points.