Limerick Celtics Head Coach Tony Hehir looks ahead to upcoming Super League season

FOR the first time in nine years, the Limerick Celtics will be playing Super League basketball this season.

READ MORE: Na Piarsaigh meet Kilmallock in Limerick Senior Hurling Championship semi-final

The Celtics earned promotion back to the Domino's Men's Super League after an 81-70 win over ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers in the Men’s Division One final back in April.

Celtics Head Coach Tony Hehir is hoping to bring last season's winning momentum into this upcoming season.

"I thought our performance in that final closed off a great season and promotion to the Super League was the icing on the cake," he said.

"The lads had put in phenomenal work over the course of the season and for that to culminate with us as cup and league champions is just incredible."

With a raft of new players and the same selection of Irish players still involved in the squad from last season, Hehir believes that this season's team could be even better than last year's.

"I think we are a stronger team than we were last year but only time will tell, it's a tougher league. In the early pre-season period, we would have been giving a lot of our 18s a lot of court time because our professionals weren't involved but we have definitely gotten stronger over the last number of weeks.

We have a full squad to choose from and people are back from injury,” Hehir said.

Hehir is also hopeful that having a basketball team from the ‘Treaty County’ in the Super League will boost interest in the sport within the county.

With Super League action returning to Limerick for the first time in nearly a decade, their head coach says that there is a ‘huge buzz’ in the camp ahead of their opening match against Ballincollig at the UL Sports Arena.

“There is a huge buzz within the camp, it's been a long time since the Celtics have been in the Super League. To have the best teams in the country come to Limerick, I think it's going to be great.

Not just for ourselves but for the entire basketball community and the general public in the county,” he said.

Being back in Irish basketball's top division is something that means a lot to the all involved in Limerick Celtics and Hehir is hoping that this is the start of further growth for the sport in Limerick.

“It means a huge amount to us to have the Super League back in Limerick, but it also gives the people in Limerick the opportunity to see some high class basketball in the University Arena.

“This level of basketball is the highest level that you can watch on Saturday night.

It's just going to be great to give people the chance to watch basketball of this standard from seven o’clock to nine o’clock,” he said.

In their first match back in basketball's elite, the Celtics face fellow Munster opposition in Ballincollig at the UL Sports Arena this Saturday night, 7pm start.

"Ballincollig have been former Super League champions so we know how formidable a challenge they will be, they will be tough opposition to play on opening night."

The Celtics will surprise a few people, according to their head coach, with Hehir stating that his side are ‘shaping up really well’ ahead of the new season.

“We're kind of the new kids on the block, we're relatively young but I think we're shaping up really well, we will definitely surprise some people in the region if we keep going in the direction we are going," Hehir concluded.