Wilbur Johnson helped lead Brighton Bears back to the summit of British basketball, then dedicated victory to the fans who stood by them in their years of turmoil.

Bears, a laughing stock when they landed a third successive wooden spoon two years ago, completed their revival in a blaze of glory yesterday, making light of the absence of skipper Randy Duck, to take the National Cup off Chester Jets, the dominant force of the British game.

Dominant until now that is. Jets, who completed a clean sweep of all four trophies last season, were outplayed, out-battled and out-rebounded at the NIA in Birmingham as Bears clinched their first silverware since 1995.

Johnson, with 24 points and 12 rebounds, claimed MVP honours and got great support in all areas, notably from his regular sparring partner in lighthearted practice court jousts, Rico Alderson, who grabbed nine boards as Bears won that battle 50-37.

Alderson also hit six of ten field goal attempts and added a game-high eight assists, Sterling Davis pulled down seven rebounds and the quick hands of Ralph Blalock gave him three steals to go with his three three-pointers.

Long-serving Mike Brown struck twice from long range and, with Emiko Etete and Errol Seaman, helped provide the defensive heat central to coach Nick Nurse's strategy.

It was Johnson, though, who shone brightest. A banner among the noisy Bears fans read: "I love Wilbur", and the 6ft 8ins giant from Philadelphia returned the compliment.

He said: "That's what I came back for this season. We played a great game against a great team and came out on top.

"In my first season we had a losing record but to have the fans support us like they did in those days made me want to come back and win things.

"To get the MVP as well is the icing on the cake.

"I think we had the best team last year but we didn't come back with any silverware. I wanted to put that right this time."

Nurse, too, paid tribute to the supporters, as well as his hardworking players and the unsung heroes behind the scenes, including his assistant Steve Swanson.

The Bears chief loosened his tie, savoured his first ever cup success and said: "The players played their guts out and deserve to have this feeling after all the work they have put in. There's no doubt who the better team on the day was.

"We've got great supporters who have been through some tough times and I'm delighted for them.

"The staff who have brought this team to the forefront of people's attentions deserve a lot of credit and Steve had a great week.

"He had us so prepared and he is without a doubt the best assistant in this League. I'm lucky to have him."

He added: "What won it for us was effort. We killed them on the boards. We got loose balls and we won all those areas that go back to effort, concentration and intensity.

"Other than a two minute blip in the second quarter, we were always on it and we had to be because Chester are a great team."