The highlight of the weekend is likely to be the semi-final clash between the two conference leaders, UCC Demons and Merry Monk Ballina, on Sunday.

Demons have reached the semi-final stage for the fifth time in Pat Price's six-year tenure at the club, claiming the championship in 2003 and 2004.

The Monks, on the other hand, last won the National Cup in 1996 and returned to Division One for several years afterwards.

This is only their second year back at SuperLeague level, but Ballina are hoping they can reverse their 2004 cup semi-final defeat against Demons.

On Sunday, Demons are hoping to use a combination of speed, depth and big-game experience to overcome the peaking Monks, whose inside-out combination of Patrick Pope and Evan Pellerin has helped them surge to the top of the Northern Conference.

Pope has dominated proceedings from the perimeter since his return to Ireland and, as a former Demon, has played in both cup and league play-offs before.

A head-to-head match-up of starters may give Ballina the edge, but Demons depth in talent has worn out 11 opponents in 13 matches.

Shane Coughlan's lingering battle with the flu makes him questionable for the game, and the loss of his cup experience could spell trouble for the Leesiders.

Game tempo and the battle of the benches will determine who moves on to the Superleague Cup Final.

In the second SuperLeague Men’s semi-final on Sunday, DART Killester and Limerick Lions will battle it out for a coveted final spot in what is expected to be another mouth-watering encounter.

Limerick and Killester clashed last Saturday in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague in a closely-fought contest.

Although Limerick pulled off the win in overtime, both teams felt they played below par and will be anxious to improve their performances this weekend.

DART Killester had a shaky start to the season, but in recent months have improved greatly with big wins over Roma St Vincent’s and MDS Star in the cup preliminary rounds.

Limerick, on the other hand, have a strong league record and currently lie second in the Southern Conference.

Coach Hehir considers this cup semi-final clash the biggest game of the season for Limerick so far.

Limerick will require a top-class performance from all their players, including Americans Taylor and Steven.

Irish players Campbell, King, Myles and Lynch, with support from Ric Leonard, must all perform well for Limerick to get a win in the game.

Bosman player Adrian Walshe is in a race against time to be fit for the game, and the Limerick management won't know his availability until the weekend.

The Women’s National Cup semi-finals also take place on Sunday and first up are southerners UL Aughinish and Mustang Sally’s St Paul’s.

It may be a case of third time lucky for the Killarney ladies as this is their third consecutive year to reach the penultimate stages of the National Cup.

They failed to progress on the two previous occasions and they will be hoping to amend that this year.

For the third year in succession, the Kerry girls will go in as underdogs and are rated as complete outsiders for the cup.

The main reason for this is because of their inconsistent league campaign. They have only won three games to date this season.

Also, UL have been the dominant force in ladies’ basketball in recent years, winning numerous league and cup titles.

However, UL Aughinish are having a very mixed season and find themselves in the unusual spot of mid-table in the league this year.

With a number of changes to their squad this season and the disruption of having to change Americans, they have not settled or performed as well as they have in the past.

In Mustang’s favour, they have already beaten Limerick in the league this season (80-74).

However, Limerick were without star player Michelle Aspell and inside players American Courtney McDaniel and Orla Nolan on that occasion, so it will be a completely different challenge this time around.

In semi-final two of the Women’s SuperLeague, Carna Transport Mercy take on local rivals DART Killester.

Having struggled at the start of the season with a mix of experience and very young players, John O'Connor's gamble has paid off and he is looking forward to a hard-fought semi-final against Mercy.

Their American Sue Altman is the league’s top scorer and their captain Carmel Kissane is leading by example with her rebounding.

It will be a tough task to retain the title but the Killester ladies will fight for this win to the bitter end.

There will be no shortage of Killester supporters, with five teams involved in cup semi-finals this weekend, a piece of basketball history in itself.

The senior and junior men’s and women’s semi-finals will take place at Greendale, Killbarrack, on Friday and Saturday.

The senior ladies kick off the action on Friday night, which sees PV’s Falcons from Longford (whose senior men also compete) come head-to-head with Dubliners Tolka Rovers (also competing in the senior men’s competition).

Following that, in the second women’s semi-final, Team Blarney Park Hotel (Donaghmore) will battle it out for a final spot with the home team, DART Killester.

Six semi-finals will take place on Saturday, also at Greendale. Once again, the ladies go first with a Dublin derby between Meteors and DART Killester for the junior women.

Killester’s full squad is made up of members of the Irish junior women’s panel, with four of the team - Shauna O'Connor, Aisling Sullivan, Fiona Carrick and Leah Westbrooks - on the Killester Superleague team.

They will also play on Sunday in the Superleague semi-final. They will certainly be tough opponents for Meteors.

In the junior men’s semi-final one, reigning champions Shamrock Rovers HOOPS will face UCD Marian.

For the 11th season in a row, Shamrock Rovers Hoops (formerly Notre Dame) have a team contesting the National Cup semi-finals at both junior and senior levels.

They have won four senior and three junior National Cup titles in those 11 years, and six junior cup victories since 1992.

Both Scott Kinevane and Ciarán White are playing in their fourth Junior Cup semi-final and should the HOOPS win the cup this year they will both have a hat trick of winner’s medals.

There are many other teams apart from Tolka Rovers and PVs Falcons who have more than one team competing in this prestigious weekend.

Sligo All Stars also have two teams contending, both in the senior men’s and the junior women’s.

The junior women, who are the favorites coming into this game, will aim to hold onto their cup title when they take on UL Aughinish.

Limerick last won the junior cup title in 2002, but this year have a very strong team, with four of the starting five also members of the SuperLeague team.

Rachel Clancy, Louise Galvin and Louise Gray are three of the fastest junior guards playing in the league.

Combined with the inside strength and agility of Caroline Gray, Rebecca Fitzgerald and Elaine Davis, this UL team, if they perform to their ability, will not be overturned too easily.

Clondalkin Lakers, in their first year of competing in the National League, also have two teams in the semi-final stages.

Their senior men will take on PV’s Falcons while their junior men will face DART Killester, both on Saturday.

The National Cup finals weekend will take place as usual at the National Basketball Arena during the last weekend in January.

The cup weekend has been a sell-out at the National Basketball Arena for the past four years, with tense finals adding to the atmosphere.