The ragtag United States of America shot the lights out of Madrid, blistering Serbia from the get-go as the world’s number one men’s basketball team routed the Eastern European power, 129-92, Monday (Manila time) to snatch the gold medal of the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

The backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and James Harden torched the hoops in the first half, with the former scoring 18 points and the latter, 17 points in the half.

The Australian-American Irving, named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, finished with 26 points and four assists on top of a perfect six-for-six shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Harden added 23 points for the American cause.

The Americans, more known for their acrobatic dribble drives and fastbreak slams, maximized their shooting potential as their main weapon against the Serbs.

They shot a splendid 15-for-30 from three-points and a splendid 57.7 per cent from the field in their third biggest rout in the tournament.

“It kind of was, again, a smack to our face, saying the U.S. was sending the B-team to go play in the World Cup. Just because LeBron [James]’s not here, Kobe [Bryant]’s not here, [Kevin] Durant’s not here, doesn’t mean anything. We can step up and win the gold, too. That’s what we did tonight,” American power forward Kenneth Faried told the Associated Press after the game.

With the win, USA bagged its fifth gold medal in the world championship, overtaking the defunct socialist nation Yugoslavia, where Serbia formerly belonged.

The silver medalist Serbs, winning their first medal in the tournament since gaining independence from Yugoslavia, were led by Nikola Kalinic and Nemanja Bjelica with 18 points apiece.

Winding up the podium for the bronze medal are France, who thumped Lithuania, 95-93, in the battle for third Sunday.