EUROPE'S longest-running international basketball tournament, the Roy Curtis, will go ahead for the 31st time this weekend, at the National Arena in Tallaght, after surviving a crisis which seriously threatened its existence.
The event remains popular among the fans, but the host club Corinthians had laboured to keep it going since they lost their National League status five years ago.
However, a plea for help to the IBA during the summer did not fall on deaf ears and with the assistance of the Dublin men's and women's boards and the staff at the National Arena, the required manpower and organisational back-up was secured to ensure that the tournament survived.
The tournament has been slimmed again to six teams and split into two groups. There will be just two clubs from abroad with the emphasis on quality. The arrival of the newcomers Chester Jets and Amsterdam should attract big crowds from tonight onwards.
The Jets lie third in the English Superleague and part of their attraction will be the host of familiar faces who form the nucleus of their squad. No fewer than four of their panel have played their basketball in Ireland in the recent past including three who were here last year, Hilliary Scott (ex Killester) and Nigel Palmer and Ricardo Leonard (both ex Tralee).
Last year's champions, Den Bosch have been replaced this year by Amsterdam, who currently lead them in the Dutch league, and look like the team to beat in the tournament. They will have an eight-man panel, with seven of their squad ranging in height from 6ft 3ins to 6ft 11ins.
Ireland will be represented by Delta Notre Dame, Killester, St Vincent's and Star of the Sea.
Delta, who have been in fine form over the past fortnight, have yet to decide on their guest foreign player; they have been pursuing Sligo's Sean Bell and Tolka's Rob Ogden during the week. Killester have secured Ballina point guard Shannon Sweeney as their guest and they come into the event following a fine Superleague win over Tralee last week in Kerry.
St Vincent's will have the services of Marian's Kevin Ellery to improve their squad while Star of the Sea will probably not look to sign a guest, using the weekend to try and sort out what has gone wrong, for them in recent weeks.
Star's 10-point league defeat last week against Neptune followed their extraordinary capitulation a week earlier in the Sprite Cup against Delta. New American signing, John Leahy replaces Jason Senik in their squad.
It is also a busy weekend for underage basketball with qualifying tournaments for the Under-19 Sprite Cup taking place at various venues around the country.
