Cheshire Phoenix forward Jordan Williams believes the odds are stacked against his team in the BBL Cup semi-final on Sunday but says that has motivated them even more.

The Nix welcome BBL league leaders Newcastle Eagles to the Cheshire Oaks Arena on Sunday (5.30pm) for the first leg of the cup double header, where a trip to the final at Birmingham's NIA awaits the overall winners.

But American Williams, who leads the BBL in scoring, knows that it won't be easy against a Newcastle side who completed a clean sweep of silverware last season and who have won all 13 of their league games so far this season.

“Things will be interesting this weekend because Newcastle are a good team and arguably the best team in the league, so we know all odds are against us but that just motives us even more,” said Williams, who joined the club in the summer out of NCAA Division One school University of North Texas.

Having gone on an excellent four-game winning run in November that hauled them up the league table, the Nix suffered a double disappointment last weekend, losing at Leicester Riders 86-79 on Saturday before a home loss to Plymouth Raiders on Sunday by a 86-80 scoreline.

Williams added: “We have got the losses from last weekend out of the way and we are just game planning for Sunday.

“We have the first leg at home so that's big for us to try and start with a win at home but for a fact we will be ready to compete and give a 100%.”

The second leg takes place at the Eagles' Sport Central home on Friday, December 11 (7.30pm tip).