BASKETBALL UCC Demons 98 (40) DART Killester 86 (38)

Cork once more confirmed itself at the epicenter of Irish basketball as they added to Team Montenotte Hotel Cork's earlier win to record a convincing win over the current holders at the National Arena in Tallaght yesterday.

Demons could even afford the luxury of losing forward, Ryan Hamblet, in the closing stages after the American had come down awkwardly following a trademark slam dunk.

The game also underlined Colin O'Reilly's credentials as the games leading player, the former under age Neptune star enjoying a very productive day on the inside where he enjoyed 64 per cent strike right.

It was O'Reilly's second Cup medal with Demons and the first for Demons managers, Douglas Leichner.

Dart Killester had cleaned out Demons in the early stages with the rebounding of Micheal Bonaparte setting up Killester on the fast break.

And with Paddy Kelly proving particularly prolific on the inside, Killester who had used their bench sparingly in the first half had opened an eleven point with 4.40 to go in the quarter.

Slowly but surely Demons had turned it around and rallied with late baskets from Niall and Colin O'Reilly and Hamblet cutting Killster's lead to four at the end of the quarter, 21-17.

Demon's veteran Shane Coughlan was to eventually draw his team level midway throught the second half and the students continued to turn the screw on their opponents which was to culminate on a score on the stroke of half time from Niall Murphy to lead 40-38

And heading into third quarter, DART Killester were beginning to pay the price for their first start as Demons began to turn them over more frequently as the game wore on.

And with 7-31 left in the third, Demons made their move with the impressive centre, Jerrah Young, punishing them twice on the inside to open up a seven point lead.

And with the game fast slipping away from them, Dart where dealt a further hammer blow when Niall Murphy landed two big shots each side of the third quarter to open up a 67-52 lead which Killester were never able to claw back.

Speaking after the game, Demons Head Coach Douglas Leichner paid tribute to MVP Colin O'Reilly: "Colin O'Reilly is the MVP of the Superleague, let alone the National Cup," said Leichner. "I believe he is the best player in the Superleague, he proves it on a weekly basis and he proves it on the biggest stage. He is outstanding and we are lucky to have him at this club.

"I thought it was a great job by our team," he added. "We fought well and eventually wore them down. The third quarter was crucial in particular the first few minutes of that period. They had a tremendous start, were well prepared and are clearly a talented team. Historically we start off a little sluggish but we got things going after the re-start and we are delighted to win this cup."