Quietly, without much fanfare or wide-spread exposure in the nation's mainstream media, the Toyama Grouses have built a title-contending team.

Head coach Bob Nash, whose basketball roots stretch from his schoolboy standout days in Hartford, Connecticut, to his rise to stardom at the University of Hawaii — plus NBA- and ABA-playing experience — likes to humbly say, "We're just a basketball team from the countryside."

Right. But the Grouses have become a very good basketball team, as evidenced by their 13-2 record, including an 84-77 road triumph over the Kyoto Hannaryz on Saturday in the bj-league.