Tony Holley is ready to clamp down defensively for Brighton Bears this weekend as he thrives on life with the old enemy.

The 37-year-old may have been born in New York and played for Thames Valley Tigers but he now regards Jacksonville, Florida, and Brighton as his summer and winter homes.

And it is that switch from Tigers to their arch rivals in Sussex that has really caught the eye as he resumes a distinguished British League career which might have ended when Thames Valley tightened their belts at the end of last season.

After a summer of ifs and buts, Holley signed for Bears on the eve of the season and has been outstanding in the team's bright start to the campaign.

His defensive input, both on and off the court, will be crucial this weekend as Bears host Milton Keynes tomorrow, then go to Chester Jets on Sunday, two fixtures which have tended to be relatively low-scoring in the recent past.

Holley revealed how he spent weeks wondering whether he would again get the call from Bears coach Nick Nurse, with whom he won honours at Manchester. Then the big question was: What will the fans think?

He said: "I was in contact with Nick since about May, when there were the budget cuts at Thames Valley.

"In fact, we've been in contact over the last two or three years wherever I've played and things were going back and forth all summer.

"In the last two weeks before the season, things picked up and he emailed and said he had a spot for me.

"He told me what the club was about what the team was about, what he wanted me to do, which I was fine with.

"I already knew him as a coach, I knew players like Yorick (Williams), Andrew (Alleyne) and Ryan (Huntley) so it wasn't a tough decision.

"Nick hasn't changed. He still comes to me and asks me what we should do defensively and who am I going to take.

"Normally he'll say I want you to take this guy because we need to shut him down if we want to win the game'.

"The one thing I said to Nurse was it's going to be strange coming from Thames Valley, which is one Brighton's main rivals, and walk into an arena on the south coast and actually be cheered instead of being booed for so long.

"Brighton reminds me a lot of Jacksonville, though, being near the seaside and since I've been here people have been really nice."

Bears' weekend double-bill offers two very distinct challenges. Their last visit to Chester was the amazing 50-point win which took them to the brink of the title but, other than that, they have suffered years of unremitting misery at an uninspiring venue.

Huntley makes his first return to the club he left last season, though he was not part of that 50-point blowout.

By contrast, Bears have enjoyed nothing but success against Milton Keynes. With the exception of the now defunct Derby Storm, the Lions are the only team against whom Bears have a 100 per cent record since Nurse took over as coach in the summer of 2001.

Quite how they have managed to win 13 out of 13 is something of a mystery.

There have been convincing wins along the way, but there have also been monumental comebacks, such as the time Bears came from 16 down at the Triangle to score the last 17 points and win by one.

Bears have come back from double-digit deficits on at least three occasions at Bletchley, including their last visit, when Joel Burns had the chance to win the game but saw his buzzer-beater rim out as Nick Nurse and company looked on helplessly.