VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - Imagine how international basketball would have been different had Andres Nocioni's shot from the right corner against Spain 14 years ago in Japan fallen through the hoop instead of bouncing off the rim?

One of the most famous of FIBA Basketball World Cups would have had a different ending. Spain would not have won, 75-74, and then throttled Greece in the Final, 70-47 for their first-ever World Cup title.

Maybe Greece would have shown up for that title game with more spring in the step, or maybe Argentina's golden generation would have pulled off an Olympic and World Cup double?

As part of the FIBA Classic Game series, the game will be streamed on Wednesday, April 1 at 19:00 GMT. You can relive the historic showdown on official FIBA social media channels on YouTube and Facebook.

Perhaps there is a parallel universe, one in which Nocioni's shot did go in and then Argentina beat Greece. Think about how dreamlike a scenario that would be for Argentina, and how the much-loved Nocioni would be adored even more by compatriots, and how he'd be viewed in the sport's history? Consider how Argentina's place in the annals of basketball would be different.

Think about Spain and how they might not have been galvanized by that incredible tournament and ascended to the status as the second best team in the world behind the United States, had Nocioni's shot gone in!

Reality bites, though, at least for Argentina. The shot was off target. It's no consolation to Argentina that they played in one of the greatest games in World Cup history.

Nocioni had 15 points but his late miss prevented his Argentina from beating Spain at the 2006 World Cup

For the fans of both countries, and the neutrals, the showdown was incredible. Argentina's golden generation was an awesome sight.

There was Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs star that had two years earlier been the MVP of the Olympics. There was Luis Scola, one of European basketball's biggest talents at Baskonia in Spain, and Nocioni, who was on the books of the Chicago Bulls. There were the emerging stars Carlos Delfino, Pablo Prigoni and Walter Herrmann, and veterans Fabricio Oberto, Ruben Wolkowisky and Pepe Sanchez.

Argentina looked to be every bit Spain's equal and maybe better. The fans of the South American giants, after Pau Gasol's exit with a foot injury early in the fourth quarter, probably believed victory would be theirs. He had poured in 19 points and would later be named as the World Cup's MVP.

But Spain, even without their star Gasol, prevailed.

The game had a lot of twists and turns, but what everyone remembers is what happened in the fourth quarter.

Gasol went down with injury, yet Argentina did not pull away. And with the contest knotted in the final 24 seconds, Argentina did not want Spain to have the final shot.

Garbajosa helped Pau Gasol off the court and then helped carry Spain to the world title

Sanchez fouled Spain's Jose Calderon after he crossed mid-court with 19 seconds left and the young point guard, a 90 percent free-throw shooter, missed his first attempt before calmly sinking the second.

Argentina then put the ball into the hands of Ginobili and with nine seconds to go, he made his move.

Ginobili blew past Juan Carlos Navarro before running into Jorge Garbajosa, Spain's power forward, who had positioned himself in the middle of the lane and hoped to draw a charge.

No whistle was blown, though, and Ginobili had two choices: get Nocioni the ball in the right corner or pass to Sanchez in the left. Ginobili whipped the ball to a wide-open Nocioni.

Chapu's shot looked good when it rolled off his fingertips but ended up a little short and bounced off the rim.

As the teams fought for the rebound, time expired.

Sergio Hernandez, the Argentina coach, had no regrets about the tactics at the end of the game, to get Nocioni the ball.

He told the FIBA World Basketball program: "(It was a) great, the best shot we can do, because along as our defensive specialist, he's (Nocioni) special because he is a great shooter, and he has a great mind. He wanted the shot ... They passed the ball and we missed."

Garbajosa reconfirmed his status as one of his country's clutch players, scoring 19 points, and rising star Sergio Rodriguez, just 20 years old, had his best game of the tournament with 14 points.

Argentina then fell in the Third-Place Game to the United States, 96-81, and Spain went on to experience their greatest moment, the world title triumph over Greece with Gasol cheering on from the sidelines while leaning on crutches.

FIBA