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SCOTTS LAKERS will start the New Year with a very important President’s Cup semi-final against Ballincollig tomorrow, Saturday, January 6, in the Neptune Stadium, Cork, at 8pm. The other semi-final featuring Neptune against Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin will go ahead this evening, Friday, January 5, at 8.30pm.

It is a big achievement by the Killarney side to reach the cup semi-final and opponents Ballincollig will be firm favourites in this tie. The Cork side are in second place on the league table with just two defeats and when the sides clashed in November, Ballincollig enjoyed a comfortable 98-75 win over the Lakers. It was a match where they also scored a remarkable 15 three-pointers spread across seven different players so they have several threats to cause the Lakers problems again.

Coached by former Tralee Tigers league winner Kieran O'Sullivan, the Cork side have top quality foreign players in Cameron Clarke and Pere Tres while Ronan O’Sullivan and Ciarán O’Sullivan are two of the best Irish players in the league.

However Scotts Lakers have showed very encouraging signs throughout the season that they can match up well against any opposition when playing to full potential. Both sides clashed in the Castleisland blitz last week with the Lakers coming out on top. The Lakers eventually lost the premier men's final to Tralee Warriors by six points after putting up a great performance.

Scotts Lakers coach Cormac O'Donoghue will have his side well prepared for this clash. The Castleisland blitz games and last weekend's league win over Sligo kept the team very active over the festive season and were better preparation than any training sessions.

Ballincollig's three-point scoring threat is well documented and if they repeat he 15 three-pointers again, Lakers will not be able to match them. Better defence and dominating an inside game is probably Scotts Lakers best chance of progressing to a cup final. The Killarney side have one of the biggest and strongest Americans in the league in Antuan Bootle, a player capable of troubling any team under the boards when he plays close to the basket. It will also be a huge game for the Lakers other big men Padraig Lucey, Andrew Fitzgerald, Dan Griffin and Paul Clarke under the boards. Elsewhere on the backcourt, the likes of Justin Tuason, Mark Greene, Dailian Mason, Philip O'Connor and Shane Horgan will also have to be at their best to bring the Lakers over the line.
League form, table positions, previous meetings and general levels of consistency will all point towards a Ballincollig victory. It will be a tough challenge for Scotts Lakers but a win is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Scotts Lakers finished the year on a high with a five-point win over Sligo All Stars in Killarney Sports Centre last Saturday afternoon.
This was a closely contested encounter and it was only in the third quarter that the Lakers managed to pull away and enjoy a narrow advantage that they held on to for the remainder of the game.

The match started on a sad note with the news of the death of the mother of Lakers player Justin Tuason. A minute’s silence was observed before the tip-off and St Paul's and Scotts Lakers offer sincere condolences to Justin and his family at this time.

Scotts Lakers will run a supporters bus to the President's Cup semi-final tomorrow, n the Neptune Stadium if there is enough interest. If enough supporters are willing to travel on it, the bus will depart the High Street car park, Killarney, at 5.30pm.The match is at 8pm and the bus will return to Killarney afterwards. The cost is €10 for the return journey per person. Further details from club officers or on the St Paul’s Killarney Facebook page.