The fixtures for this year’s National Basketball League Division 1 have just been confirmed and it will afford supporters of Scott’s Lakers plenty of opportunity to see their favourites in the opening weeks.
League newcomers Tipp Talons will be the first visitors to the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre on Saturday, October 12 and it will be the Lakers second fixture of the season after an opening day trip to Waterford.
The Titans will travel down the west coast on Saturday, October 19 with fellow Galwegians Moycullen, relegated from the Superleague, pulling into town on Saturday, November 16. Portlaoise Panthers are in town the following weekend while the always competitive Limerick Celtics come to Beauty’s Home on the last weekend in November with the Vikings making a return trip to Killarney at Christmas time.
There are five more home games in the new year with another league newcomer Carrick Cruisers making the long trek down from Monaghan, with Ulster University, Tolka Rovers and the Limerick Eagles finishing off the home programme.
Two dates definitely for your diary are the Killarney derbies which take place in the Pres Gym on the October bank holiday weekend and the sports centre on March 1.
As well as having three new teams in the division, Basketball Ireland has tweaked the regulations in the league. The most obvious one is the reduction in the number of Category 2 players permissible. Each team can now only field one of this category which in most cases means clubs will only have one American player.
A further regulation is that there must be at least two Irish home-grown players on the court at all times, obviously brought to preserve the role of the Irish player in teams.
Scott’s Lakers have, of course, installed a new head coach in Ron Howard who is combining the role with a coaching development task within the St Paul’s club. He certainly has made a favourable impression in his early days.
Mikah Blackwell, a 6ft 6 native of Virginia, has also settled into the town and community while Patrick Lanipekun has wasted little time making himself at home, a transition made easy for him by the presence of close family in the town.
The rest of the squad has now had a couple of seasons in the league to find their feet and the young guns Eoin Carroll, Jack O’Sullivan, Mark Sheehan and Oisin Spring are a year older and wiser.
Rui Saravia is back in harness while Marko Bencic is returning to the fold. Jamie O’Sullivan is stacked with experience and know-how and the hope is that the production line will also unearth a new batch ready to step up to the challenge.
Season tickets are currently on sale for families, adults and patrons and are available from any club officer and committee member.
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Coach Ron Howard (left) with new signings Mikah Blackwell (centre) and Patrick Lanipekun
