INDIANAPOLIS -- George Karl was right after all. The World Basketball Championship, even without Team USA playing in the title game, was a celebration.

It just took an epic Yugoslavia-Argentina final to prove it to the doubters.

The passion, the drama and the sheer exhilaration of Sunday's final eclipsed the lackluster yawn the tournament had been to that point.

Thousands of Yugoslavian and Argentinean fans rocked Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday as Yugoslavia eked out a thrilling overtime victory over Argentina. The game will be remembered for years to come, not just because both teams knocked the U.S. team off its pedestal, but also because it reminded us of the soul that's disappeared from USA basketball.

"Maybe we've learned something from watching the world play the game the way we used to play it," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

Yugoslavian head coach Svetislav Pesic echoed those sentiments. "I think we had more heart and more experience . . .I think it is wonderful to win in the United States where basketball is from. Here are the roots of basketball, but we have proven that Europe is coming along with basketball as well."

What a game it was. Yugoslavia charged back from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game with 17.4 seconds remaining. Two missed free throws by Vlade Divac and a controversial no-call at the end of regulation pushed the game to a dramatic overtime.

Both sides, exhausted after playing nine games in 11 days, spent another dramatic five minutes in an epic defensive struggle. Peja Stojakovic's 3-pointer at the start of overtime was the only basket either team made in the extra period.

"God upstairs gave us some extra energy," Stojakovic said. "At the end, we gave all that we had."

After the game, Yugoslavian players were quick to differentiate themselves and Argentina from the U.S. team that slipped to sixth place.

Yugoslavian point guard Marko Jaric said that Argentina, not the U.S, was the Yugo's toughest opponent. "The U.S. was tough, but they didn't play with the ferocity that Argentina did. It was a very difficult game. It was the toughest I've ever played in."

"We have big hearts," Igor Rakocevic said. "Both teams had the biggest hearts. That is what will be remembered."

The game featured dramatic performances from Stojakovic, whose three point basket in overtime put Yugoslavia ahead for good, Dejan Bodiroga, who scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Argentina's Fabricio Oberto, who scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in defeat.

Argentina suffered greatly from the loss of Emmanuel Ginobili, who sprained his left ankle on Saturday. Ginobili managed to play just 12 minutes, most of it ineffectively.

"Clearly he was not 100 percent," his coach said.

The victory sparked a deafening celebration by Yugoslavian fans, many of whom drove down from Chicago. Chanting "Yugoslavia" and "Vlade Divac" and waving the Yugoslavian flag, the volume level made the cowbell ringing fans of Arco Arena in Sacramento look downright tame.

"The support of the fans was overwhelming," Jaric said. "I thought I was home. I didn't know this many Yugoslavians lived in the U.S., let alone in Indiana."

Divac, who came out of his self-imposed retirement from international competition for this one final tournament, said the whole ordeal was worth it in the end.

"It is going to be my last time playing on an international team," Divac said. "I remember back when I was 17, I played in Spain, and it was my first big international tournament. And, today's win was as much fun as back then."

Chad Ford writes the daily NBA Insider column for ESPN Insider. To get a free 30-day trial, click here.