National League Division 1

Scotts Lakers v Waterford Vikings

Saturday at 7.30pm

The Auracle will be rocking once again on Saturday night when the Scotts Lakers welcome the Vikings of Waterford to Killarney.

The Lakers have had an excellent start to their second season back in the big leagues and Coach Cormac O’Donoghue will be hoping to improve on their impressive 7-2 record this weekend. Only two teams in the entire league, DBS Eanna (8-0) and Ballincollig (9-0), have won more games to date and the Killarney side currently find themselves in a tie for second place in the Southern Conference.

The signing of Seán O’Brien has proved to be an unqualified success. The Philly native, who was brought in by the club just a couple of days before their opening fixture, is averaging 25 points per game and his energetic and selfless play has quickly earned the affection of the St Paul’s faithful.

Dutch powerhouse Papito Hersisia has also brought a lot to the table. The skilful big man is putting up a very solid 22.9 points per game. Skipper Mark Greene is achieving a level of consistency that perhaps evaded him in his comeback season, while fellow Irishmen Andy Fitzgerald, Shane McCarthy, Séamus Brosnan and the returning Pádraig Lucey are also making significant contributions.

The signs are good so far and Coach O’Donoghue will be pleased with his side’s response after those two defeats to Ballincollig and Carlow. The Lakers have won their last two games and they will be eager to keep the moment going with another home victory tomorrow night.

The Vikings have endured a terrible start to the 2018/19 season and face into tomorrow’s match with an abysmal 0-9 record. The Lakers will be hoping for a repeat of the reverse fixture which saw them prevail on a 102-73 scoreline. If they have their heads screwed on right, the hosts should prevail with points to spare.