This season Polonia SPEC Warszawa, the best men's basketball team in Mazovia and the third best in the country, is again fighting for a bronze. It is the only team in Poland to have as many as four American players, led by coach Wojciech Kamiński.

A day before an important match, Kamiński, the Polish league's youngest coach, watches videotapes of the rival's latest games until the wee hours. Recently he took down his players' home phone numbers and asked them at what time they were going to sleep. "I didn't call them, but I wanted them to know that I might," he says. "I could see some of them weren't too happy about this. I trust them. But trust combined with control gives grounds for thinking about a success."

In its 94-year history, Polonia has scored many successes. The 2000/01 season was exceptional-after five years in the second league, the team returned to the first league. They were also invited to take part in the European games of the Northern European Basketball League where they ranked sixth and qualified for NEBL finale tournament in Vilnius. In 2004 Kamiński led Polonia back to the podium, after 28 years. "We keep playing well," says Eric Elliot, the main play maker. "We have four Americans on the team. Last season we finished third in the Polish league."

"I love Warsaw," says Elliot, who plans to keep on playing for Polonia. "My family is with me, and we feel comfortable here."

"This is not a beautiful city, but it's full of fun," says Jeff Nordgaard. "I really like it. This is one of the reasons why I came here. I like these guys; I like this team." The age differences on the team are quite vast; the oldest player is 36, the youngest 19. "But we all find a common language," says Łukasz Koszarek, the most promising Polonia player.

Nordgaard says Polish basketball is good, though in the United States the sport is more popular. In Elliot's opinion, "in the U.S., there are more aggressive guys, while Europe has more technical players. In the U.S., the atmosphere is different, thousands of people come to cheer."

Gatis Zonbergs from Lithuania also has a high opinion of Polish basketball. He loves Warsaw.

Polish fans love Otis Hill, who is heading the Internet ranking for the best Polonia player. "I first heard about Hill from an agent," says Kamiński. "I was on my way to a tournament in Belgium, and Otis was playing there. I asked around and managed to bring him to Poland." Fans love Hill the most when he slam dunks.

"In this business, we take a player and promote him," says Kamiński. Apart from the Americans, other outstanding Polonia players include Krzysztof Roszyk and Koszarek. The latter, according to the coach, has made great progress. Koszarek recalls that as recently as a year ago, he would rarely hit the boards. The press writes that the coach trusts him a lot. "I try to reciprocate," says Koszarek. "Polonia is a club for me, it's the best choice I could've made." He can remember how he was happy when he got a fax confirming he was included on the national team. "But the team is my everyday life," he says. "These are two different things. On the national team, I play mainly for prestige."

"A loss is hard to take," says Kamiński. "After we lost in the Polish Cup, it took me three days to digest it. But afterwards, we just get down to work." Polonia has its own rituals before an important game, but the players are not willing to talk about them. When they are playing Anwil in Włocławek, they drive there only on the day of the match. This way, they won a bronze medal a year ago. This was one of the rare times when you could hear basketball players singing on the bus.