HIROSHIMA, Japan, Aug 22 - Spanish supporters have been down this road before and know where it can lead, a championship journey ending in heartbreak long before reaching the final destination.

It is usually the country's under-achieving soccer team veering suddenly off course as they did at this year's World Cup but this time it is the Spanish basketballers on a joy ride at the world championship.

Cruising along on a 12-game winning streak, they have so far lived up to their billing as worthy championship contenders.

Led by NBA all-star Pau Gasol, Spain have booked their place in the final 16 with minimum fuss and plenty of flair.

After winning all nine warm-up matches, Spain rode the momentum into the championship, sweeping through their opening three contests and sealing their place by thrashing Germany 92-71.

"We're a tough team and we're going to be a tough team to beat," Gasol said. "We have to dominate every game."

Despite Gasol's bravado there is more caution than celebration among Spanish supporters, who have seen and heard it all before.

Spain's footballers headed into the World Cup on a high after a 22-match unbeaten run, but exited the tournament in the first knockout round after a 3-1 defeat by France.

While Spain have not advanced past the World Cup quarter-finals since finishing fourth in 1950 their basketballers have never stood on the world championship podium.

"We have taken the football team as an example," guard Juan Carlos Navarro told Spanish news agency Europa Press. "The fans had great hopes placed in them this year and in the end they did nothing.

"We have to take things one step at a time in the knowledge that we've got a great team."

With the country now producing nearly as many top calibre basketball players as footballers, the quality of the Spanish squad is undeniable.

Gasol, top scorer at the 2003 European championship and 2004 Olympics, is the player around which the Spanish team revolves but the towering forward is backed by a top flight supporting cast including Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa.

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE

The rest of the squad is taken from the highly competitive Spanish league, now generally regarded as second only to the NBA.

That combination of talent and chemistry has made Spain the hot favourites to battle the U.S. for gold in Saitama on September 3.

"We can win the gold medal because we are participating in the championship," Hernandez said.

"It is true there are very high expectations for this team but this is just a theory until we prove it on the court."

While Spain have firmly established themselves on the European stage with podium finishes at three of the last four EuroBasket their trophy case contains precious little gold.

At the 1998 and 2002 world championships and 2004 Olympics, Spain's medal bids were halted in the quarter-finals but few in Japan see the Iberian's challenge ending before the medal round.

"Spain has to be considered one of the tournament favourites," New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin said.

"They've had an exceptional buildup and I think right now everyone in the tournament understands that Spain is probably a team that believes they are a medal prospect."