NEW signing Philip Gilbert will be handed a baptism of fire on Sunday when Chester Jets play their biggest match of the season so far.

The 23-year-old American guard arrived in the UK on Wednesday and goes straight into the Jets' team for the BBL Cup semi-final with Newcastle Eagles at the Metro FM Arena.

A graduate of Bradley University in St Louis, Missouri, 6ft 3in Gilbert has been brought in as a replacement for departed countryman David Fanning.

The Jets' BBL Cup exploits have presented them with a welcome break from the Championship, where they have won only one of their first four matches.

Last Sunday they recorded an impressive 94-82 home victory over holders Brighton Bears in the quarter-finals, with Shawn Myers shooting a game high 35 points.

Despite last week's success, Jets' player-head coach Singleton remains philosophical about his team's chances against the Eagles.

'We're playing one of the top teams, so we've got to work our way towards trying to get to their level,' he said. 'We'll go out on Sunday and see how we do.

'Obviously Newcastle are the form team in the league right now. And they've got a great coach in Fab Flournoy.'

Calvin Davis's knee injury meant he played only a bit part against the Bears, but he is expected to feature in a more prominent role this weekend.

Jamal Brown made his Jets debut on Sunday - despite only arriving in the UK at 4.45am on the day of the match!

A power forward, 6ft 7in American Brown notched 15 points and 12 rebounds.

'If he can average that on a consistent basis for us, I will be happy,' said Singleton. 'Jamal came in on the day of the game and did excellently. He can be a very important player for us.'

Having worked with a patched-up squad for most of the season, Singleton is looking forward to having all his big guns available against the Eagles.

'Right now is the first time all season that I've had a complete team,' he said. 'It's is the first week I've had my full squad together in training so I'm just hoping everything gels well.

'Going into the Newcastle game with that being the reality, we've just got to try to work this week and get to their level. We'll just have to see how we do.'

Jets have won the BBL Cup once before in their history - in the famous 'Jetwash' season of 2001-02.

n Both semi-finals will be played in Newcastle on Sunday, with the Jets' match taking place at 5.30pm following the Scottish Rocks v London Towers tie (3pm).

SHAWN Myers notched 35 points to fire Chester Jets into the BBL Cup semi-finals.

Myers' contribution was key in the 94-82 defeat of holders Brighton Bears at the Northgate Arena on Sunday.

After the Bears led early, the Jets went on a 15-3 run as part of their 26-14 first quarter lead. They extended this in the second period with some tough defence.

Despite trailing by 22 at half time (52-30), the Bears refused to buckle and closed the gap to trail by 13 (69-56) after three-quarters.

The Bears would close only one further point, though, as a 13-3 run by the Jets again opened a 22-point advantage (89-67) with just two minutes on the clock.

The result was exactly what the Jets needed after Saturday's 75-72 loss at Guildford Heat in the Championship.

Jets had only six players, with Calvin Davis injured and Richard Parker their only player on the bench. Player/coach Billy Singleton led by example as he posted 23 points and 12 boards for the Jets, who lost their lead with just 24 seconds left on the clock.