The Serbians, who won this event in 2012 in Greece, were denied the title last year when they were surprisingly beaten by Qatar in Russia.

They managed to return to the top of the podium today however, beating the United States 21-16 in today's men's final in Guangzhou, China.

The number one 3x3 player in the world Dusan Domovic Bulut and sharpshooter Dejan 'The Maestro' Majstorovic combined for 16 points in the title game while big man Marko Savic contributed four and defensive specialist Marko Zdero added one.

On their way to the final, Serbia eased past The Netherlands in the quarter finals, 22-10, before progressing to the gold medal match following a 17-13 win over Spain.

The Americans made their way to the final after what appeared to be a tricky draw.

They successfully eliminated the reigning champions Qatar, 12-11 in the quarter-finals, before overcoming current European champions Slovenia 17-15 to set up the final with Serbia.

By finishing second, the Americans have claimed their first-ever medal at a men's 3x3 World Championships.

Slovenia beat Spain 17-16 for bronze.

In the women's competition, the Czech Republic won the women's event convincingly, beating Ukraine 21-11 in the final.

Their team featured Sara Krumpholcova, who scored a eight points in the final, and two-time Olympian Michaela Uhrova, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

The Czechs were deserving winners following their impressive semi-final win over the usually dominant Americans, who they saw off 21-18 to end their reign as champions.

The US women had won both of the last two editions of the tournament and narrowly missed out on a chance to defend their title in the final today.

In the dying moments of the match, the Americans had a free throw to draw the scores level, but it was missed.

The ball fell to the Czech Republic who scored to put the game beyond doubt.

As a consolation, the bronze medal was won by the US after they defeated Spain 20-14 in the third placed play-off.