Robbie Peers believes the future is bright for Cheshire Phoenix after a bumper crowd watched them breeze into the final four of the BBL Trophy.

The Nix were sublime at the Cheshire Oaks Arena on Sunday to put away a Bristol Flyers side who had won seven of their previous eight games, 90-71.

The success booked them a spot in the semi-final of the competition and delighted a full house in Ellesmere Port, with more than 1,100 supporters watching Peers’ charges put on their best display of what has been a trying season on the court.

For Peers, who returned to the helm as head coach earlier this month following the sacking of Colin O’Reilly, it marked the first win of his new reign and he believes that more positive things are to come.

“We were excellent and we executed superbly and fully deserved the win,” said Peers.

“We shot over 60% from the field and managed to beat a Bristol side who had won their last seven games and beaten London Lions by 30 points in their previous game.

“We worked very hard in practice and it paid off and it was really pleasing to see how the players reacted, and to do it in front of such a big crowd made it all the more special.

Earl Brown on his way to his 29-point haul for Cheshire Phoenix against Bristol Flyers

“We are trying to get better every single day and I think that Sunday showed that we are heading in the right direction as a group, which is pleasing to see.”

And while Peers is only concentrating on ensuring the Nix make the end-of-season play-offs, the play-caller, who led the club to a clean sweep of domestic trophies under the guise of the Chester Jets in the 2001/2002 season, hopes that continuity will breed success for the Nix.

“We need to retain as many players as we can from this current group to ensure some kind of continuity moving forward next season,” he said.

“It isn’t a quick process and we have some excellent British players as well as American players and we want to try and keep a group together as that is how you go about achieving success.

“If we can do that then I think there is a bright future for this club. You can see from the crowd here on Sunday that it is a club that can really go places. I think we can pack this place out every single week.”

Cheshire are back in action today when they make the short trip to rivals Manchester Giants (5.30pm), a side who have struggled this season on the court.

But Peers isn’t taking anything for granted this weekend.

“It will be a tough game and we will need to put in a lot of hard work in practice this week,” he said. “It is a local rivalry and it will be a battle.”