A convincing win for Neptune over Denny Notre Dame yesterday brought them to the top of the ESB men's Superleague, but their rise was helped by the surprise defeat of joint leaders Esat Telecom Demons.

Neptune, still with a game in hand, went into a comfortable lead early on thanks to excellent displays by Stephen McCarthy and Marcus Walley. Despite Notre Dame coming back to within two points with just three minutes left, Raseul McKune's defensive rebounds and McCarthy's free throws completed a 78-71 victory. Demons, however, couldn't quite go the distance with Burger King Limerick, who had previously enjoyed only one victory this season. In front 19-16 after the first quarter, Limerick suddenly took over to lead by 10 points at half-time before extending that to 87-73 at the finish.

Elsewhere, Tolka Rovers finally got their first points of the season when they won a tight game against St Vincent's 71-69. The other contender for the top spot, Kerry Spring Killarney, lost out 70-68 in a similarly close finish to Waterford Crystal.