Spain 2014 hoops extravaganza set for tip off

BILBAO/GRAN CANARIA/GRANADA/SEVILLA/BARCELONA/MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Think of the great players that have taken center stage in major international basketball events over the years.

Reflect on the terrific games and the big moments.

Many are entrenched in our memories.

Remember when Sergey Panov dribbled the length of the floor for Russia in the dying seconds and made a lay-up to beat the United States in their Semi-Final at the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens?

What about the terrific performance of Yugoslavia four years later in Indianapolis, especially when they defeated Argentina in the title game after overtime?

There was that incredible ending to Greece's Preliminary Round clash with Australia in Hamamatsu, Japan, eight years ago, when Nikos Zisis sank a long, game-winning jump to beat the Boomers.

In 2010, there was a classic opening round encounter in Istanbul between the USA and Brazil, which the former won, 70-68.

There are plenty more memories to savor.

With the FIBA Basketball World Cup tipping off on Saturday in Spain in Granada, Sevilla, Bilbao and Gran Canaria, prepare for more drama.

Might Brazil follow the lead of Lithuania's 2010 team and ride a wild-card berth all the way to the podium, or could Angola become the first African team to capture a medal?

Will Iran underline their status as the best team in Asia by making it out of a tough Group A and advancing to the Round of 16?

Are we going to see the return of an Oceania team, Australia or New Zealand, to the last four for the first time since 2002 when the latter went on a surprising run to the Semi-Finals?

Will thousands of Finnish fans that have snapped up tickets and made Bilbao their home for a week provide an emotional lift and help their national team survive Group C?

Ask anyone in the United States or Spain what the likely title showdown is going to be and the answer will be a clash between their two teams.

Though the road to the Final in a 24-team tournament is always long and hard, a Spain v USA showdown is not hard to imagine.

The Spaniards reached the top of the podium in 2006 in Japan, and the Americans did so four years later in Turkey.

Both teams are packed with talent in 2014.

Spain have seven champions from the 2006 team with the Gasol brothers, Pau and Mark, Juan Carlos Navarro, Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, Felipe Reyes and Jose Calderon, and the USA have 2010 gold medalists Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry and Rudy Gay.

The United States have beaten Spain in the last two Olympic title games by close margins, but the latter have the home backing, an imposing front court with the Gasols and Ibaka, and a lot of experience.

The Americans do have London Games champions James Harden and Anthony Davis and another amazing players.

Many a hurdle has to be cleared by both sides for a Spain v USA title tilt to materialize.

They would have met in the 2006 Final in Saitama had Greece not come up with the performance of a lifetime and stunned the Americans in the last four, 101-95.

In 2010, Spain's bid to reach the championship game came to an end in the Quarter-Finals when Milos Teodosic buried a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer for Serbia.

The USA overcame Angola, Russia, Lithuania and finally hosts Turkey to claim the title.

All 24 teams at this year's World Cup are only concerned about the Group Stage right now.

Four sides from each group will progress to the Round of 16.

Spain, France, Brazil, Serbia, Iran and Egypt will square off in Group A, in Granada, while in Group B, in Sevilla, are Argentina, Greece, Croatia, Puerto Rico, Senegal and the Philippines.