Cup final pits bruised Bears and Jets in a holding pattern

They may be placed higher in the BBL table than the holders Chester, but Brighton Bears will start tomorrow's National Cup final at Birmingham's NIA as outsiders to the Jets.

Sluggish at the start of the season, Chester have not lost in their last nine league games, while the Bears have lost the leadership to Sheffield and go into the final with their second-top scorer missing and another player doubtful.

The first, the former London Towers point guard Randy Duck, has contributed 17.4 points per game to the Bears' scoring but is expected to miss the remainder of this month after suffering a hernia that will require surgery. The bench player Errol Seaman is expected to play despite a knee injury, and the veteran guard Ralph Blalock will handle the Bears' play-making duties, something he did well enough to be voted Most Valuable Player two seasons ago.

"Randy being out hurts us from a depth standpoint more than anything," said the Brighton coach Nick Nurse.

"I think we have some confidence, if only because we have been able to figure out how to win without everything being totally perfect," he said. "We've had lots of injuries to different guys and we just kept winning - that shows some character and a lot of heart."

Against that, this season's Jets might even be better than the team that did the grand slam of four domestic titles last season. Their coach Robbie Peers has admitted he prefers this year's model, although it still has to prove itself. "Last year's team won trophies, this one's won nothing so far," he said. "On paper it's stronger, because we have Kenny Gregory and Todd Cauthorn."

Gregory has become one of the league's star performers in his first season, scoring 24.6 points per game. Peers admitted he nearly signed the Kansas graduate during the summer but was worried that Gregory had not proved himself outside the United States. The Jets have lost only three of 18 games since Peers changed his mind.

The National Cup is the one title Nurse needs to complete a full set of winners' medals, something Peers achieved in four months last season. "Most of the time I've been rebuilding franchises and the cup is just too early in the year when you're rebuilding," said Nurse. "Maybe this is the year."