MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - It's been a very long time since the Dominican Republic played at a FIBA World Championship.

The last appearance was 1978, when the Dominicans were among 14 teams to take part in the event that was staged in Manila, the Philippines.

The tournament was best known for having a thrilling Final, one in which Yugoslavia beat the Soviet Union, 82-81.

Yugoslavia great Drazen Dalipagic, a 1.97m forward who would eventually be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, led the tournament in scoring at 22.4 points per game.

The late Sergei Belov played for that Soviet Union side.

While the Dominican team won two of its seven games, the players were famous and have grown in stature because of the many years that followed when the country didn't take part in the competition.

"Those (1978) World Championship players are remembered as idols in the country," Dominican Republic coach Orlando Antigua said before the start of this year's FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying event for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

"It was a great achievement. And we're going to try to make our mark."

The 1978 side had a balanced scoring attack with Ivan Mieses leading the way at 18.1 points per contest.

Francisco Prats (12.4ppg), Vinicio Munoz (11.6), Winston Royal (10.7) and Evaristo Perez (10.0) also averaged in double-digits.

While the Dominican team won just twice and came in 12th, ahead of the outfits it beat, Korea (13th) and Senegal (14th), their tournament might have turned out a lot different had they been able to claim a couple of wins earlier.

After starting with a 104-65 demolition at the hands of the United States, the Dominican Republic fell to Australia, 74-72, and Czechoslovakia, 82-81.

The long drought of appearances at the major events will come to an end when the Dominicans play at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

FIBA