Maigh Cuilinn face one of their toughest assignments of the National League season this Saturday evening when Killarney Lakers visit the University of Galway Kingfisher Sports Centre for a 7pm tip-off.
The Kerry side arrive in Galway sitting atop the Southern Conference standings with four wins from five games, having established themselves as one of the early favourites for promotion.
Their only defeat came on the opening weekend of the season, when they suffered a surprise 92–82 loss to Dublin side Templeogue. Since then, however, the Lakers have rattled off four consecutive league victories and appear to be growing stronger with each passing week.
Their impressive form continued last weekend in the National Cup, where they made light work of last season's league runners-up, Portlaoise Panthers, to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Much of Killarney's success has been built around the outstanding form of American guard Jack Watkins, whose arrival from Texas for his first professional season has certainly made an impression on Irish basketball.
Watkins announced himself as one of the league's most dangerous offensive players in extraordinary fashion during last month's Kerry derby against Killorglin, pouring in a remarkable 45 points in one of the games of the season to date and containing him will be central to Maigh Cuilinn's chances on Saturday, although the home side are unlikely to leave that responsibility to any one defender.
John Hynes, James Loughnane, Donagh McDonagh and Rory O'Sullivan are all likely candidates to spend time attempting to disrupt Watkins, while Liam Moloney could provide another valuable defensive option should he recover from injury in time for the contest.
Maigh Cuilinn will be looking to build on their emphatic 81–57 victory over Tolka Rovers in the opening round of the National Cup at Sportlann Naomh Anna in Leitir Móir last weekend.
Olsson led the scoring with 19 points, while Molina contributed 16 and Basic added 11 in an impressive all-round performance. Convery finished with eight points, while Loughnane's return provided a welcome boost to the Maigh Cuilinn offence.
The victory secured a home quarter-final and provided a timely reminder of the quality within the Maigh Cuilinn squad.
This Saturday's meeting with Killarney Lakers will represent a considerable step up in opposition, but the Galway side will hope to bring the same defensive aggression and attacking confidence into what promises to be an entertaining encounter at the Kingfisher.
