All-Ireland Premier League:
Fixtures, Results & Final Table 2013-14
Home FixturesAll games 3.30pm in
Methodist College (* denotes Double-Header with Ulster Rockets who play at 1.00pm) Sun 6 Oct* Star vs Neptune Sun 27 Oct Star vs Moycullen NATIONAL CUP 1st Rnd, 2nd Leg Sat 16 Nov, 3.30pm Star vs Killester Sun 24 Nov* Star vs Demons Sun 15 Dec Star vs UCD Marian Sun 19 Jan* Star vs DCU Saints Sun 26 Jan Star vs Templeogue Sun 9 Feb* Star vs Killester Sun 23 Feb* Star vs Limerick Sun 9 Mar Star vs Dublin Inter |
Match Reports
Frank Otis turns away from Darren Townes of Neptune
Final Game deemed Walk OverStar fans were unable to give the team a final 2013-14 Farewell and Thank You when our last home game of the season was deemed a Walk Over for us because of Dublin Inter's inability to travel on Sunday 9 March.
Very impressive win over UCD MarianSat 1 Mar: UCD Marian 85 Star 93 Going into this game, both sides were evenly matched. Both had recorded the same number of wins and more importantly had undergone very similar transitions this season. For UCD Marian their combination of new players and coach reflected the changes that Belfast Star were also making. Both had also recently enjoyed more winning success as them seem to settle under their new management.
Nonetheless, it was Star that pushed out the score on the night to see them claim 3 well deserved points. Adrian Fulton, head coach of Belfast Star, said: “We are really pleased with our performance and the result of the game. It’s probably fair to say it’s the best we have been this season. We have played well before in games against Killester, for example, but we didn’t come out with the result like we did here.” “It’s a pity we don’t have many games left to play. It feels as though we are just getting into the swing of playing. Overall though, our team has dramatically improved this season and it was in this game against UCD Marian that you can really notice the change.” UCD Marian 85 (36) (C Meany 22, T King 15, E Chubb 12) Belfast Star 93 (44) (P Dick 22, F Otis 18, D Morira 16) Important home win over LimerickSun 23 Feb: Star 78 - Limerick 54
Star have kept their Champions Trophy hopes alive with an important home win over UL Eagles at home, 61 – 54. The seven point victory not only keeps Star in the race for fourth, but also denied Eagles what could prove to be a crucial losing bonus point. Leading early, Star were made to work hard for their victory as foul trouble affected both teams throughout and it was just a four point game at the half. Eagles, missing their captain Neil Campbell, were perhaps the slightly shorter in terms of depth and with Delwan Graham one of the players in foul trouble, they were always struggling to stay with the home side. Star’s tactic of trying to contain the penetration of influential Eagles guard Scott Kinevane was also paying dividends, resulting in the Belfast club being up by seven in the final seconds. Following two big free throws from Paul Dick, they knew they had to prevent the three pointer in order to deprive Eagles of a losing bonus point and did just that, conceding a layup to win 61 – 54 and catapult themselves right back into contention for fourth. “We knew that it would have to be three wins from three from here on out so that is one,” said Star head coach Adrian Fulton afterwards. “We have actually played better this season and lost but at this stage of the season it was all about just getting the right result.” Belfast Star 61 (37) (F Otis 15, P Dick 14, M Jackson 10) UL Eagles 54 (33) (S Kinevane 17, D Graham 15, E Quigley 7) 
Paul Dick: top Irish-born scorer in 2013-14
Killester strength sees them home in MethodySun 9 Feb Star 78 Killester 89 An energetic start from a Star team that looked refreshed on the back of two straight wins saw them match in-form Killester more or less point for point in a first half that ebbed and flowed before a good crowd in Methody. Frank Otis was a constant thorn in the Killester side early in the game as was Dustan Moreira who served up an impressive series of blocks in addition to his 12 first half points. Three points down at the end of the first quarter, Star had edged ahead mid-way through the second only for Killester to hit back with 8 unanswered points and then another late surge before going in at the break 44-38 ahead.
Killester then immediately stretched the lead to 11 at the beginning of the third with Michael Bonaparte giving the Star defence plenty to worry about. After a quiet first half, Paul Dick then led a Star resurgence that saw them whittle down a 13-point deficit to just 3 points with 6 minutes left in the game. The comeback was short-lived however as Isaac Westbrooks and Ciaran Roe stepped up to help drive the Dubliners well ahead again and go home with an 11-point winning margin. Top scorers for Star were Paul Dick on 23, Frank Otis on 20 and Dustan Moreira on 18. For the visitors Michael Bonaparte hit 26. 
Liam Pettigrew making his Premier League debut
High scoring win in GalwaySat 1 Feb. Moycullen 81 Star 97 Belfast Star secured their second straight win in the Men’s Premier League and moved to fourth place in the table with a high-scoring away win in Galway on Saturday.
Star had to contend with the sharp shooting of the league’s leading scorer Mike Callaghan early as the Connecticut native had 22 first half points that were a major reason for the slender three point gap between the sides at the break. With the greater strength in depth, however, Star eventually wore down a battling Moycullen side. The win, which eventually came on a final scoreline of 81 – 97, will be welcome news to Star fans who learned during the week that head coach Jose Maria Berrocal was forced to return home to Spain due to family commitments. Stepping into the breach for the remainder of the season will be Adrian Fulton, who was happy to see his first game in charge result in a win. “Obviously, on behalf of the club and the team I’d like to thank Jose for all the work he did with this bunch and all of our teams in Star. He brought with him an amazing knowledge of the game that has benifited us hugely and will continue to benefit us. “I was really pleased with how we played in this game with the change of coach and particularly with the number of players that contributed significantly.” SSE Renewables Moycullen 81 (49) (M Callaghan 27, D Cunningham 27, P O’Brien 7) Belfast Star 97 (52) (P Dick 25, F Otis 21, D Moreira 18) 
Paddy McGaharan: had some huge moments for Star during 2013-14
Victory over Templeogue secures first home win of 2014Sun 26 Jan: Star 88 Templeogue 73 Star eased to a 15-point winning margin in Methody to overcome premier league rookies Templeogue. The home team raced away from the start with Paddy McGaharan quick off the mark. Templeogue's Luke Thompson inspired a comeback, though, which saw the Dublin men lead by two at the end of the first. Paul Dick and Frank Otis began to exert their dominance in the second, however, and fired Star into a 43-37 lead at the break. Dustan Moreira took control in the third and extended the home led even further. Indeed, 12 of the Spaniard's 16-point total came in the 3rd and 4th quarters before he fouled out with 2.40 remaining in the game. A feature of the game was the wide spread of scoring with only one home player of the twelve failing to notch up any points. Top scorers for Star were Otis on 18, Moreira on 16 and Dick on 11. For the visitors, Isaac Gordon hit 21, 9 of which came from free throws.
 Frank Otis makes a massive rejection against Moycullen
Disappointing to start to 2014 home campaignSun 19 Jan: Star 66 DCU Saints 70 Star's first home game of 2014 ended in a disappointing loss to DCU Saints who continued their good form of late. Having started brightly, the home side's performance dipped as the first half progressed. The turnover count grew and that - combined with poor shooting that saw us only covert 1 in 3 first half shots - led to DCU leading at the break by 29-25. By the end of the third the Eoin Darling-inspired DCU had extended that lead to 48-41. Both Paddy McGahern and Conor Quinn stepped up with 8 points apiece in the second half to inspire Star to close within two points of the visitors. However, with both Paul Dick and Frank Otis fouling out in the 4th, Star were unable to penetrate the Dublin defence. Top scorers for Star were Frank Otis on 13, Dustan Moriera on 12 and Conor Quinn on 10.
Star edged out in Cork thrillerSat 4 Jan: Bord Gais Neptune 86 Belfast Star 84 After a back and forth game that saw 16 points scored in the last two and a half minutes, home side Bord Gais Neptune emerged from the dust to claim a two point victory versus Belfast Star in Cork.
A tight one throughout, Neptune’s head coach Mark Scannell was relieved afterwards.“Star have a very good young team that is well run and they have no fear." However, a frustrated Jose Maria Berrocal said he was disappointed with Star’s defensive display. “We are improving all the time which is good and we played well offensively but we played no defence. We also missed 14 free throws which is not good,” he said. On the topic of the technical foul and difficulties he had with the referees during the game, Berrocal complained about what he felt like was “a lack of respect” for his team and style of coaching. “I am very sad because I am proud of my players but I think we were shown a lack of respect. Both teams tried to do their best. We all train very hard to always get better and I don’t think everyone is doing that.” Bord Gais Neptune 86 (40) (D Townes 30, M McGinn 12, G Walsh 12) Belfast Star 84 (44) (F Otis 19, M McKillop 17, P Dick 13) Impressive win for Star in DublinDublin Inter 58 Belfast Star 72
Sat 21 Dec: Tied on 11 league points apiece entering the game, Belfast Star emerged 58-72 victors over Dublin Inter Saturday night. Led by 20 points from Paul Dick on over 50 per cent shooting from the field, Star simply outclassed Inter and led for the majority of the game, at times by as much as 25 points. It was Star’s first win after four straight losses but head coach Jose Maria Berrocal never lost faith in his team’s talent level. “We lost games but we were getting better all the time,” said Berrocal. “We fought hard for everything today and won but we played more or less as good as we did versus Demons and others,” added Berrocal, who went on to say he has been very happy with his players’ efforts despite recent results. Inspired by the creative play of Paul Dick, Frank Otis and Dustan Moriera, Belfast Star can now look forward to challenging for a Champions Trophy spot in the New Year with four wins and two losing bonus points from the first half of the season. Dublin Inter 58 (22) (M Tamusauskas 20, A Statkus 11, M Cepliauskas 7) Belfast Star 72 (38) (P Dick 18, F Otis 13, D Moriera 11) Star fall to MarianSun 15 Dec: Star 60 UCD Marian 70 This was a high octane encounter right from the tip with both sides eager for a win to consolidate their league positions.
Despite a very effective start, Star’s failure to build on their early momentum would ultimately cause their downfall. With Frank Otis in blistering form, Star maintained a 7-point lead for long periods of the first half. Otis was ably supported by Paul Dick and Dustan Moriera. Marian, however, came back into the game more in the second period, coinciding with Otis’s long spell on the bench. Indeed, at the half, the visitors had just nosed in front on a score of 35-37. The most disappointing aspect of the game, though, was that in the second half Star were only able to manage a total of 25 points. Otis again continued his good form, however, racking up 12 second half points to give him a game total of 26 – his best performance in a Star shirt. Dick finished on 16 and Moriera hit 10. For Marian, their American Terrance King top-scored on 19. Disappointing loss to LimerickEagles 74 Star 57 Star didn't bring their recent good form with them when they lost to reigning league champions UL Eagles in Limerick on Saturday night.
Once again, early foul trouble disrupted Star's plans and both McKillop and Otis eventually fouled out. Paul Dick had a good second half, though, and once again was Star's top scorer on 20 points, ably supported by Dustan Moreira who had 11 points to his name. Star edged out in thriller against DemonsSun 24 Nov: Star 78 - Demons 83 For so long, it seemed that a certain home victory was on the cards in this Premier League game against unbeaten Demons. Star - with Dustan Moreira debuting - came out of the blocks with all guns blazing right from the start. Great defence and quick, decisive breaks kept the scoreboard rapidly ticking over in Star's favour and a lead of 47-36 was built up at the half.
Going into the third, however, the introduction of Adrian O'Sullivan for the visitors kickstarted a Cork comeback and Star's lead was whittled to just 5 going into the final quarter. O'Sullivan gave the visitors the lead 2 minutes into the fourth, setting up a nail-biting finish in which the lead ebbed and flowed with the visitors just managing to get ahead and then keep their noses in front as the game wound down. Top scorers for Star were Paul Dick on 17 and both Michael McKillop and Dustan Moreira on 13. For the visitors, Lehmon Colbert hit 25, supported by Hosford on 13 and O'Sullivan on 10. National Cup exit for StarSat 16 Nov: National Cup: Star 61 Killester 78
There was National Cup pain for Star on Saturday night as visitors Killester put in a storming first quarter to put this first round/second leg tie beyond doubt. This game did not reflect the intensity of the first leg when league pace-setters Killester barely broke away from the young Star side, 83-80. Jonathon Grennell, head coach of Killester said, “We are very satisfied with our performance in the second leg. Our team responded to the question Belfast Star asked last week with a gritty display. We didn't let up as we know Star are a team who do not quit.” “Our senior guys were excellent tonight and led by example from start to finish. I have to mention Ciaran Roe's performance. Not many 20 year olds can produce a game of that quality in a pressure situation while relishing the challenge of containing Paul Dick.” Belfast Star 61 (26) (F Otis 16, A Quinn 10, M McKillop 9) Killester 78 (41) (C Roe 24, M Bonaparte 18, J Behan 14) Killester 83 Star 80:
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Away FixturesSat 12 Oct, 7.00pm
@ DCU Saints DCU Sports Complex Sat 19 October, 7.00pm @ Templeogue Oblate Hall, Dublin Sat 2 Nov, 8.00pm @ Killester Irish Wheelchair Assoc, Dublin NATIONAL CUP 1st Rnd, 1st Leg Sat 9 Nov, 8.00pm @ Killester Irish Wheelchair Assoc, Dublin Sat 30 Nov, 7.30pm @ UL Eagles UL Arena, Limerick Sat 28 Dec, 6.00pm @ Dublin Inter Mourneview Y&C, Dublin Sat 4 Jan, 7.00pm @ Neptune Neptune Stadium, Cork Sat 1 Feb, 6.30pm @ Moycullen NUIG Stadium, Galway Sun 16 Feb, 3.30pm @ UCC Demons Mardyke Stadium, Cork Sat 1 Mar, 7.00pm @ UCD Marian UCD Dublin |
“Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.”
Scottie Pippen
Belfast Star Basketball Club: Registered Charity No 893848-3-3
