Cup action in Honduras today after their fourth straight win yesterday. The team will make certain of joining Honduras in Group III if they can beat Antigua today in their final Group IV match. "The battle is still on and we're right in the thick of things,'' said team captain Steve Bean last night after the 3-0 win over the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

That followed a come-from-behind 2-1 win over US Virgin Islands the day before, a match that lasted more than five hours. Ricky Mallory lost his singles before James Collieson won his match against Greg Newton 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to keep Bermuda in the tie. Youngster Jensen Bascome and veteran Dean Mello brought the match to a thrilling end by coming from 4-6 in the first set to win 6-4, 6-4 to clinch one of their most important wins of the tournament.

"The doubles went right down to the wire and could have gone either way,'' Bean admitted. "We showed a lot of character in pulling the doubles match out after having lost the first set. We knew that was one of those hinge matches.

If we had lost that then our chances would have been the same as everybody elses.'' Bascome, 20, has rallied to the call from the team as the experienced Ricky Mallory continues his recovery from neck pains. "I was pumped after James won his match and I knew that was one of the biggest matches we would play for the whole tournament,'' said the youngster of Thursday's match. "My tennis at Temple (University) has really helped me a lot. "I've been playing since November and that has helped me to focus coming into Davis Cup.'' Bermuda's win extended their record to 4-1, with Bascome beating Darion Hughes 6-4, 6-1 in the first singles before James Collieson also needed just two sets to get past his opponent, Kirtsen Cabler 6-2, 7-5. The win already clinched, the decision was made to rest Mallory for the doubles, leaving Bascome to team up with Mello for an easy win over Hughes and Haydon Ashton. They won the first set 6-1 before their opponents retired, with one of the players complaining of a sore shoulder. "We had to dig in today, the heat was just as much a challenge as the opponents,'' said Bean.