SAITAMA -- We've watched so much basketball over the past two weeks that we've started blurting out phrases such as "Dunk again, Gasol!" and "Hit another 3-pointer, Navarro!" in our sleep.

We've witnessed underachieving clubs (China, Italy, Slovenia and Brazil).

We've observed overachieving squads (Turkey, France, Nigeria and Angola).

We've seen the end of Serbia and Montenegro's basketball marriage (the nation as a whole has also split in two) and reign as world champs.

We've admired Argentina's tough-as-nails demeanor as it vied for a second big-time gold medal in the past three years.

The 2004 Olympic champ came up short, but gave it a valiant fight, as Andres Nocioni's last-second shot against Spain missed.

And after 80 games in Hamamatsu, Hiroshima, Saitama, Sapporo and Sendai, it's now time to recap the best and worst of the FIBA World Championship.

BEST LEADER: Pau Gasol, Spain. He put his team in a position to win the World Championship with eight strong games. The injured center then inspired his teammates from his courtside seat in the title game.

BEST FANS, part I: Spain's flag-waving, animated supporters never lost their enthusiasm during the two-week tournament. "Campeones, campeones (champions, champions)," they proclaimed again and again on Sunday night.

BEST FANS, part II: The Angola supporters at Saitama Super Arena. During the second half of the West African nation's game against France on Aug. 27, the crowd excitedly backed the underdog. One team official told me in Hiroshima that less than 10 fans had made the trip to Japan from Angola. In Saitama, thousands rooted for an upset. It was terrific to see.

BEST COACHING JOB: Pepu Hernandez, Spain. He guided the talented squad to 18 straight victories dating back to pre-worlds competition, including an ultra-tough showdown against Argentina in the semifinals, en route to the title. Whatever he's doing, Pepu is pushing the right buttons. And he's only in his first year as the Spaniards' head coach.

BEST INTERVIEW: In the moments after his team's one-point loss to Spain in the semifinals, Argentina point guard Pepe Sanchez displayed class as he spoke about the team's mood. "It's tough. It's a new experience for us not to be in the finals," Sanchez said. "I think it's going to make us grow as people and players . . . As a team we have nothing to regret. We got beat by a great team."

BEST CELEBRATION: The Greek players, putting a modern twist to a classic village celebration of yesteryear, danced in a circle at halfcourt moments after shattering the Americans' dream of winning the gold medal.

BEST DUNKER: LeBron James. The U.S. star slams the ball through the hoop with incredible authority.

BEST PASSER: Greece's Theodoros Papaloukas had 21 assists entering the semifinals. Then he erupted for 12 in the win over Team USA. This excellent effort was similar to the ones he had in leading Greece to the EuroBasket 2005 title, as well as winning 2005 Euroleague final four MVP honors as CSKA-Moscow's deft passer.

BEST COMPLEMENTARY PLAYER: Juan Carlos Navarro. The Spaniard averaged 14.0 points a game as the team's No. 2 scorer. He converted 41 percent of his 3-points shots (taking advantage of the attention Gasol received inside) and knocked down 50 percent of his 2-point shots.

BEST STATEMENT: Darko Milicic. The Serbia and Montenegro forward, who has been called the bust of the 2003 NBA Draft, continued his rise to stardom at this tournament, placing in the top 10 in rebounds, blocked shots and 2-point fields goals made. He's still only 21.

BEST STAMINA: Dirk Nowitzki. The German star played a tournament-high 303 minutes over nine games.

BEST NUMBERS, part I: Greece shot 71 percent (27-for-38) from inside the 3-point arc in its semifinal win over the U.S.

BEST NUMBERS, part II: Spain allowed just eight points off turnovers in the entire tournament. Talk about taking care of the ball -- and getting back on defense after a miscue.

BEST ADVOCATE FOR THE SPORT: Turkey coach Bogdan Tanjevic -- hands down, this honor goes to him. The well-traveled coach held nothing back in his postgame rant on Saturday.

The coach blamed the NBA for not properly promoting the game worldwide. "They just come to this tournament to take the best players back home," he said.

He told reporters that "(NBA players) just spend summers doing nothing," Tanjevic said. "When you ask them what they are doing during summer, they'll say 'weightlifting.' "

Tanjevic said FIBA needs to do a better job of following FIFA's approach to its World Cup by ordering players to suit up for their national teams.

BEST UNHERALDED PLAYERS (tie): Angolan teammates Joaquim Gomes and Eduardo Mingas pushed their team to new heights in this tournament, particularly in the paint. Both undersized forwards finished in the top 10 in rebounding average, and Mingas had more offensive rebounds than Yao Ming, Gasol and Nowitzki.

WORST NUMBERS, part I: In the first half against France in the fifth-place game, Turkey shot 4-for-22 from the field, had zero assists, 13 turnovers and trailed 35-20. Ouch.

WORST NUMBERS, part II: Argentina shot 1-for-18 from 3-point range in its second-round win over New Zealand.

WORST BIG-GAME PERFORMANCE: Argentina's Manu Ginobili shot 6-for-21 in the semifinals against Spain.

WORST COLLAPSE: Japan. The young team blew an 18-point halftime lead against New Zealand in its fourth Group B game. A win in that contest would've given Japan a spot in the final 16; instead, team fans can only ponder the what-ifs.

WORST TEAM PERFORMANCE, part I: China. To finish 2-4 in this tournament with a giant like Yao Ming in the middle shows China needs to continue to build a solid nucleus before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

WORST TEAM PERFORMANCE, part II: Panama, Qatar and Senegal. These three teams all finished 0-5 in group play. (But, hey, to qualify for worlds was an accomplishment in itself for each of them.)

WORST LETDOWN: Greece struggled in all facets against Spain, failing to replicate its brilliant effort from the previous game. How bad was it? Panagiotis Yannakis didn't see his team score its 30th point until the 6:50 mark of the third quarter.

WORST COACHING ADJUSTMENT: In the second quarter of USA's loss to Greece, Mike Krzyzewski failed to change up his team's defense. Greek players drove the lane with ease and put up close-range shot after close-range shot. Fans shook their heads in disbelief as the American players allowed Greece to force its will on them, which turned out to be a decisive factor in this game.