Serbia and the United States faced off in the championship game of the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball for the first time, but there is a long history between the two nations.

If you follow Serbia’s FIBA lineage stretches back to the 1950s when it was still part of Yugoslavia.

Up until 1990 when war tore the country apart and divided it into six republics — Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia — Yugoslavia was the most successful basketball nation in the world; even better than the U.S., which was fielding college players at the time. Yugoslavia won three FIBA world titles from 1970-90, winning in ’70 as the host nation and won two more times in 1978 and 1990.

During that stretch, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union were the two biggest rivals of the United States. While the Americans and Russians collected most of the medals at the Olympics, Yugoslavia was piling up the FIBA World Cup titles. They won three as the former Yugoslavia and two as Serbia.

After an eight-year break because of conflict, Yugoslavia returned to the World Cup stage in 1998 and won the FIBA title for the fourth time in Greece. Four years later, the Serbians had their crowning achievement when they claimed their fifth world title in Indianapolis, Indiana. That team — led by Serbian legends Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and Dejan Bodiroga — may have been Yugoslavia’s best post-war squad. It was one of three countries (along with Argentina and Spain) to beat a U.S. squad made up of NBA players. It was the first losses for Team USA since the 1992 Olympics when the Dream Team was formed.

The 2002 FIBA World Cup was the last time Yugoslavia (now Serbia) reached the final, until the 12-year drought was broken in when Serbia reached the final against the U.S. in Spain 2014.

The Americans dominated the game, winning 129-92, behind 26 points from Kyrie Irving and 23 points from James Harden. Klay Thompson and Kenneth Faried both had 12 points; Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins each had 11. Cousins also had a game-high nine rebounds in just 16 minutes.

Irving and Faried were named to the all-tournament team, along with Spain’s Pau Gasol, Serbia’s Milos Teodosic and France’s Nic Batum. Irving was named tournament MVP.

The U.S. completed a perfect 9-0 record at the World Cup, and became the third nation to win back-to-back FIBA World Cup titles. The other two countries to pull off the feat are Yugoslavia and Brazil.

Team USA now has a record five FIBA world titles.

Faried said he was a little disappointed that Spain didn’t reach the final because he and his teammates wanted to beat the Spaniards on their home soil before their home crowd.

The much-anticipated showdown between the top-ranked Americans versus the No. 2-ranked Spaniards never materialized, as France ousted Spain in the quarterfinals. A France-USA matchup in the championship would have been a delight as well, but the French fell to Serbia in the semifinals.

Imagine if Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia were still part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia’s Goran Dragic could be in the backcourt with Teodosic. Crotian big men Ante Tomic and Dario Saric could be paired with Serbia’s Nenad Krstic. And the squad will field not one but two Bogdanovics — Bojan and Bogdan. Both are sharpshooters and natural-born scorers.

Now that group could give Team USA a run for its money. Unfortunately, the world won’t be able to see it.

Despite several players declining invitations to play in this summer’s FIBA World Cup, it will be hard to find a more talented and deeper roster than the one USA Basketball will send to Spain.

USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have built a solid enough program that it can withstand the losses of several marquee guys such as Paul George, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin. George broke his leg in an intrasquad scrimmage in Las Vegas, while Durant, Love, Aldridge and Griffin dropped out for various reasons.

It opened the door for new faces to step into the vacuum and help the red, white and blue defend the gold medal it won in 2010 in Turkey. Here’s a look at the final 12-man roster:

Derrick Rose —The Chicago Bulls point guard played for Coach K in 2010, and he has something to prove this summer after coming off back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in the NBA. As long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks from his surgically torn meniscus, Rose should be the starting point guard and one of the team leaders.

Stephen Curry — The Golden State Warriors sniper says he’ll most likely play more shooting guard than point guard, but his ability to play both guard positions makes him a valuable asset. Curry is familiar with system, having played for Coach K in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

James Harden — The 6-4 shooting guard can also play the small forward role against most FIBA teams, giving Coach K more options. The Houston Rockets star — who won a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics — will be looked upon to be the catalyst on offense now that his good friend Durant is no longer on the team. Harden could lead the team in scoring and show the world that he’s one of the best.

Kenneth Faried — The Manimal is one of the wild cards on the roster. He may not be your prototypical forward but what he brings to the table are effort and energy. You don’t need to draw up plays for Faried because he has a nose for the ball. He’s a terrific rebounder, runs the floor well and loves to play defense. Colangelo and Coach K rave about him in practice.

Anthony Davis — With Love and Griffin gone, the New Orleans Pelicans power forward should be the lead anchor of the U.S. frontline. The 6-10 Davis could play more center than power forward, and maybe have Durant play as the stretch 4. Davis has looked real good in camp and his experience from the 2012 Olympics will only raise his confidence.

Kyrie Irving — Coach K loves his former Duke Blue Devils, and Irving was one of his prized pupils. Irving is the ideal point guard to go against international competition. He can create offense off the dribble against man-to-man defense or bust a 3-pointer if the defense goes zone.

Klay Thompson — At 6-7, Thompson has the size to play both forward spots. The Warriors sharpshooter is the ideal FIBA forward because of his ability to stretch the floor with his shooting. Thompson is also a very good one-on-one defender.

Rudy Gay — When Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George went down with a gruesome leg injury, Gay stepped up and volunteered his services. Gay was on the 2010 squad that took home the gold medal in Turkey, and he is very familiar with Coach K’s system. Gay is a natural small forward, but is capable of playing the stretch 4 against most international teams. He is also a capable defender, and could stick versatile wing players such as Spain’s Rudy Fernandez, France’s Nic Batum and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

DeMarcus Cousins — The way team is constructed Coach K will need a true low-post player to compress the defense, and that could mean a big role for Cousins. The Sacramento Kings center is one of only two true centers in camp and his presence could come in handy against bigger teams such as Spain, Australia, Brazil and Lithuania.

Andre Drummond — The same reason why Drummond should make the roster. An injury to Davis or Cousins leaves Team USA very vulnerable up front, so having the Detroit Pistons big man serves as insurance policy.

DeMar DeRozan — The surprise of training camp has to be DeRozan. The Toronto Raptors star has played well in practice and the exhibition games, and he’s making it very difficult for Coach K to cut him. DeRozan brings versatility and athleticism to the roster, and he can guard his position.

Mason Plumlee — No one saw this coming, not even Coach K. Plumlee started out on the practice squad then got elevated to the national squad after Aldridge, Love and Griffin dropped out. But even then Plumlee was still a longshot to make the squad. But the more he played, the more impressive he looked. And his understanding of Coach K’s system — his old coach at Duke — gives him a distinctive advantage over the other big men on the roster.

When Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski were putting together their list of players for Team USA in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball they may have been listening to California Love on their Beats by Dre headphones.

OK, that’s probably way not how Coach K and Jerry C. roll. But you can’t help but notice the number of players with West Coast on the 20 players who will participate in the men’s national team’s training camp in Las Vegas.

The players invited to camp include: Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); Paul George (Indiana Pacers); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Paul Millsap (Atlanta Hawks); Chandler Parsons (Dallas Mavericks); Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), and John Wall (Washington Wizards).

Six of the 20 players invited to camp grew up in California. DeRozan is from Compton; Harden attended high school in Artesia; George grew up in Palmdale; Korver is from Lakewood; Thompson is from Santa Margarita and his dad is former Los Angeles Lakers great Mychal Thompson; and Lillard represents Oakland.

In addition, Curry and Cousins play for NBA teams rooted in the Pacific Division. So that’s eight players, nearly half the roster, with West Coast ties. It would have been nine but Russell Westbrook — who went to Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, Calif. — and his former UCLA teammate Kevin Love (born in Santa Monica, Calif.) both dropped out and won’t take part in the selection process.

Durant, Davis, Harden, Curry and Rose should be locks to make the 12-man roster when the squad heads for Spain. All five were either part of Coach K’s gold-medal winning team in the 2012 London Olympics or the gold-medal winning team in the 2010 FIBA World Cup (then called the World Championships).

Irving should also make the final cut because he played for Coach K at Duke (that’s a no-brainer), as well as George. Both participated in Team USA’s training camp in 2012. George’s versatility and defensive prowess makes him a valuable asset.

That leaves five spots left from a pool of 13 players.

Krzyzewski would likely take another big man and the decision will most likely come down to Cousins and Drummond. Cousins is the more polished low-post player but Drummond presents a matchup problem for any team with his size and athleticism. Love’s departure could mean both Cousins and Drummond may make the squad.

Because the FIBA 3-point line is shorter than the NBA 3-point line, you can’t have enough shooters on the team. That’s good news for guys like Thompson, Korver, Hayward and Parsons. A lot of the decision-making will hinge on how the players look and perform during camp and the exhibition games.

The World Cup of Basketball features 24 national teams and will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 14. The USA World Cup Team will play its preliminary round games in Bilbao, after being drawn into Group C along with teams from the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Turkey and Ukraine.