CHESHIRE PHOENIX coach Ben Thomas admits that victory at Bristol Flyers on Saturday would cap a ‘brilliant’ week for his side.

The Ellesmere Port club followed up victory at Surrey Scorchers with an assured display in the 113-102 win at north west rivals Manchester Giants in midweek.

Nix captain Momcilo Latinovic led the way with a 26-point haul to complement CJ Gettys’ tally of 21 in a game that saw Giants star forward Willie Clayton and coach Danny Byrne ejected from the game before half-time.

The pair were hit with double technical fouls after disputing a call by the officials, with the visitors exerting further control on the game to secure their second win in four days.

Victory lifted the Nix to sixth and levelled the club’s head-to-head record with the Giants, a feat Thomas is aiming to repeat at Bristol.

He said: “Winning at Manchester was a big result for us against one of our closest rivals.

“It was a strange one with the their star player and their coach both being taken out of the game, but even at that stage of things we were ahead.

“It almost seemed to galvanise them in a way because the five players they had left on court stepped it up because they knew they weren’t going to be substituted.

“They played with a high intensity and were taking on a lot of bold shots with a fair few finding the net.

“But we stuck in there and matched that workrate to close the game out.

“It levels the head-to-head record against them, which is exactly what we have to do against all the play-off rivals we face between now and the end of the season.”

The play-off chasing Flyers took the honours in the reverse fixture last November, inflicting a 97-83 defeat on the hosts.

But with the prospect of overseeing a hat-trick of away victories in just seven days, Thomas is focused on delivering another solid performance.

“If we can win down at Bristol it will have been a brilliant week for us”, he added.

“Getting points on the board, even if we have played a couple more games than the teams around us, is the most important thing.

“Yes, it’s a tight turnaround for us in terms of the fixture list, but there’s no excuses from us.

“All of the teams in this division have to make a lot of long away trips - often in quick succession - and we’re no different.

“It was a tight game against Bristol last time and I expect it to be similar at there place.

“They’re coached well and play as a really well organised unit, so we know exactly what we’re in for down there.”

The weekend’s Championship action gets underway tonight when second-placed Sheffield Sharks host Plymouth Raiders, and Leicester Riders make the trip to Glasgow Rocks.

The BBL Cup final takes centre stage on Sunday when the Rocks face London Lions in Birmingham.

The season’s first piece of silverware is on the line as the Lions look to re-capture the trophy title they won in 2008 with Glasgow competing in the final for the sixth time.

The Rocks overcame Manchester Giants in the semi-finals, with Championship pacesetters London looking strong on all fronts so far.