Whether it is returning to glory or taking steps toward relevancy, this summer's FIBA world championships mean something different to each of the teams involved.

Sunday's drawing divided the 24 teams into four groups for the Aug. 19-Sept. 3 tournament, which will be held all over Japan.

Host nation Japan received what many felt was a relatively easy draw, playing in Group B against Spain, Panama, Germany, New Zealand and Angola.

Japan, No. 25 in the FIBA rankings, is not ready to get cocky, though.

"Look, I don't know what to say about the grouping," Japan coach Zejlko Pavlicevic said. "Maybe it would have been good to be in the same group as Senegal, or Venezuela would have been nice."

Spain, No. 5 in the FIBA rankings, is considered to be the group favorite, along with Germany, which will be Japan's first opponent.

Many teams in Group B are worried about Angola, which has won eight of the last nine African Championships, and is trying to become the first team from Africa to make the final 16.

"I think my team has a chance," said Angolan basketball legend Jean Jacques Conceicao. "(Making quarterfinals or later) would mean Angola would be more of a basketball country, and the excitement would spread to more and more countries.

"It would be much better for the whole continent of Africa."

Defending champion Serbia and Montenegro will play in Group A, along with the team it beat for the title in 2002, Argentina. Rounding out the group are Venezuela, France, Lebanon and Nigeria.

"I think that we were lucky," said Serbia and Montenegro's Predrag Bogosavljev. "As far as I can see, Group A and Group B are less in quality than Groups C and D. I think so."

Formerly Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro has a strong history of dominance in international play, winning five world championships. But at last year's Eurobasket, it failed to make the quarterfinals.

"It's a great honor to come from such a tradition-rich basketball history, but at the same time, it is a big responsibility," Bogosavljev said. "You have to follow up on those extremely good results, and it is not easy like it was before."

The first round of the tournament is round-robin play, with the top four teams in each group advancing to the final 16, where single-elimination play will begin.

FIBA top seed the United States headlined Group D, which featured international basketball powers China and Italy, the silver medal winner at the 2004 Olympics. Also in Group D are Puerto Rico, Slovenia and Senegal.

The United States will be coached by Duke's Mike Krzyziewski, and it already has commitments from NBA stars Allen Iverson and LeBron James.

The USA, which hosted the event in 2002, finished an embarrassing sixth last time before struggling to win bronze at Athens in 2004.

Many felt Group C was the toughest of the four.

Group C members Lithuania, Greece and Australia are all top-10 teams in the FIBA rankings, and they will be joined by Brazil, Turkey and Qatar.

"It, maybe, is not the group we would have picked had we been given a choice," said Scott Gerwin, chief executive of the Australian Basketball Federation. "But to win the world championship, you have to beat the good teams either way."