Out of the 24 competing national teams in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, only two now remains.

On September 12, 2010 2:30 PM ET / 18:30 GMT at the Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul, Turkey, USA and Turkey will meet in the Finals for the honor and glory of being crowned the best basketball team in the world.

For USA (8-0), this will be the first time since 1994 that it have reached the FIBA World Championship Finals. It would be noteworthy to mention that it was also the last time that USA won the gold medal.

Turkey (8-0) meanwhile as the host country, is the favorite to win aside from Team USA. This is the first time that they have reached the Finals with only 6th place in 2006 as their previous best placing.

USA will have to rely on Kevin Durant’s scoring, the playmaking of Chauncey Billups and Derrick Rose and rebounding and defense of Lamar Odom and Andre Iguodala.

The host Turks are known for their vaunted zone defensive schemes. There’s also the presence of Hedo Turkoglu, a walking match-up nightmare with the ability to handle the ball, lead the team’s offense and shoot. Meanwhile, Ersan Ilyasova possesses the athleticism needed to test defenders, while seven-footer Omer Asik provides size up front.

=======================================================

UPDATE: The United States won its first world championship since 1994 on Sunday, beating Turkey 81-64 behind another sensational performance from tournament MVP Kevin Durant. Durant had 28 points, setting a record along the way for most in the tournament by a U.S. player.

Watch USA vs Turkey replay highlights below:

USA finally re-stake its claim as the best basketball nation in the world.

Turkey failed to make history but actually over-achieved as this is their best place finish ever.

Check out also the Serbia and Lithuania replay highlights of their 2010 FIBA World Championship battle for third place game.

Please read my related posts:

1. 2010 FIBA World Championship Semifinals | USA Advances to Finals For the First Time Since 1994 One of the semifinal matches for the 2010 FIBA World Championship features a first timer and a returning team. On September 11, 2010 at 12:00 PM EST, Team USA and Team Lithuania will meet at the Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul,...
2. 2010 FIBA World Championship Semifinals | Host Turkey Wins 83-82 Thriller! As the host and therefore having the homecourt advantage, Turkey had an easy time dispatching all of its opponents to make it to the semifinal round of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. On September 11, 2010 at 2:30 PM EST,...
3. 2010 FIBA World Championship Third Place | Lithuania Wins First Ever Medal After losing their respective semifinal matches; Serbia to Turkey and Lithuania to USA, the two teams will try to at least salvage some national pride by battling it out for Third Place in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. They will...
4. 2010 FIBA World Championship | Semifinals Bracket After 5 games in the Preliminary Round and knockout games in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, teams slowly bowed down one by one until only 4 national basketball teams remain. Out of the original 24 teams all over the...
5. Meet Bascat, the 2010 FIBA World Championship Mascot The 16th rendition of one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the world, the FIBA World Basketball Championship is being hosted by Turkey from August 28 to September 12, 2010. Just like with any international sports competition, it would...
6. 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship Can’t get enough of your daily dose of the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship? Watch the games in the various available live online streaming videos for free here. The 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship is expected to last from August...
7. Team USA 2010 TV Schedule Guide Although the last time USA won the title was in 1994 when Dream Team II was sent to represent the country, Team USA is still the favorite to win the 16th rendition of the FIBA World Championship. It would not...
8. Team USA 2010 Basketball Roster This year’s Team USA basketball roster is a totally different one from the Redeem Team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Despite being a young team, USA is still the favorite to win the...
9. 2010 NBA Finals Game 5 | Paul Pierce Wins Duel With Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant had his best game of the series netting 19 of his 38 points in the 3rd quarter and scoring 23 straight Laker points between the 4:23 mark of the second quarter until there was 2:16 left in the...
10. Canada Wins Olympic Hockey Gold in Overtime! It was the most anticipated game in the whole duration of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. And it lived up to its billing. USA and Canada met in the gold medal game for the team sports Hockey in the last...

If you want to receive my latest posts, please subscribe to my full feed RSS or have them delivered through email. Just enter your email address below and hit the Subscribe button.

Tags: 2010 FIBA world championship, team USA 2010, turkey