A landmark moment in Maigh Cuilinn basketball arrives this Saturday at the Kingfisher, where the club will, for the first time ever, host a National League men’s-and-women’s double header on home court.
The afternoon begins with history: Maigh Cuilinn women will play their first ever home fixture in the Basketball Ireland Development League (BIDL ) at 3.30pm, welcoming Dublin Raiders.
The women’s team has already captured imagination locally, built around the precocious underage pairing of Lily Hynes and Aoibhinn Connolly, both of whom also star for University of Galway Mystics. Their pace, creativity and fearlessness have quickly become the heartbeat of the squad.
Adding a remarkable layer of experience is Julie-Ann Russell, the recently retired Irish soccer international whose leadership and big-game pedigree should provide invaluable composure for what promises to be a special afternoon on the floor.
Once the final buzzer sounds, the spotlight turns to the men’s National League clash at 7pm, where Maigh Cuilinn welcome Tipp Talons in a fixture that offers both opportunity and jeopardy for the home side.
Talons carry
real threat
Maigh Cuilinn's cup defeat last weekend leaves the side eager for a reset. The return home, paired with the energy of a landmark double-header crowd, provides an ideal stage for a response.
Maigh Cuilinn will enter the weekend as favourites, but Tipp Talons are a far more dangerous opponent than their two-win record might suggest. Their two victories to date have been eye-catching: an early-season triumph over recently relegated Superleague outfit Templeogue, followed by a dominant 22-point dismantling of Killarney Cougars.
The backbone of their threat lies in two prolific scorers. Aleksandar Kovacevic, averaging 20 points per game, is a difficult cover on any night. A product of BC Star in Novi Sad, Serbia, he joined Tipp after an impressive season with Portlaoise Panthers, who reached both the National League and National Cup finals. Before that, he played collegiate basketball in the United States at Park University and Western Oklahoma State College — experience that shows in his efficiency and decision-making.
Alongside him is Mike Pierre, a dynamic guard averaging 16 points per game and a familiar name to Irish supporters from his 2018 stint with Portlaoise Panthers. Pierre has since built an eclectic CV that includes spells with the Binghamton Bulldogs — ranked No. 1 in the ABA — and the South Shore Monarchs in the US.
A special occasion on and off the court
Saturday promises to be more than a standard league outing. For the men, a win would steady momentum and reassert their early-season ambitions; for the women, it marks the beginning of a new chapter in the club’s story.
Club Chairperson Cian Nihill said that the historic occasion "is a really proud moment for the club".
"In recent years we might have been known nationally more for our men’s team but we have always had a vibrant and proud women’s section and indeed, it has often been our girls’ section underage that has achieved the most in terms of national titles and players representing Ireland for large stretches of the club’s history, going back decades.
"The current crop now entering BIDL is a testament both to that legacy and the incredible work done specifically in recent years in the women’s and girls’ sections and we can’t wait to cheer them on alongside our men now at senior national league level," he added.
Either way, it will be a day to remember in Maigh Cuilinn’s expanding National League journey.
