The ecstatic fans crammed outside the city hall, where the team displayed the trophy on the balcony and thanked the crowd for their support throughout the tournament.
"We knew you were with us and we won this silverware for you. It belongs to you, the people of Yugoslavia," said captain Dejan Bodiroga, the hero of a thrilling 84-77 win against Argentina in the final.
Top scorer Predrag Stojakovic said the welcome the team received was a unique feeling.
"We played with passion and a burning desire to give our nation something to cheer about. The feeling of winning the fifth world title and getting this kind of reception is quite simply unmatched," he said.
For a country ravaged by a decade of political conflicts and economic depression, the road to triumph was all the sweeter for a dramatic quarter-final win over the United States, the country that led the 1999 NATO ( news - web sites) bombing of Yugoslavia.
Stalwart Vlade Divac, who plays for the NBA's Sacramento Kings, said his belief that the Yugoslavs would win a fifth world title in America was the reason he rejoined the national team.
"We played our hearts out for our people and country. We never stopped believing we could beat either the United States or Argentina in the final. That's why I came back after three years of retirement."
After watching the knockout stage games on video screens in the city center for three consecutive nights, fans once again produced a blaze of fireworks as well as a truck blaring techno music.
Many waved Serbian and Yugoslav flags or wore replicas of national team jerseys, dancing for joy as the players appeared on the balcony.
"This has become something of a tradition and I sincerely hope it will continue endlessly," said 26-year-old Jovan.
Last year Yugoslavia won European titles in men's basketball, volleyball and water polo and all three squads were welcomed by huge crowds outside city hall.
Belgrade mayor Radmila Hrustanovic said she hoped officials would be able to stage a blueprint copy of the celebration after the 2004 Olympics.
"We are proud of you, we love you and we wish you a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens so that we can do all this again," she said.
There was more rapturous applause as the team headed out and into the bus to join their families.
"We're now off to see our loved ones, see you all later," coach Svetislav Pesic said on his way out.

This will be the fifth and last time Yugoslavia wins the world championship, though. The country, a federation made up of Serbia and Montenegro, will cease to exist by the end of this year as the two republics form a looser union under a new name.

There were euphoric scenes up and down the land as people jumped up from their television sets to join the celebrations, cheering and applauding from doorways and balconies in the middle of the night.

For a country with little to boast about in recent years, the road to triumph at Indianapolis was sweetened last week by overcoming the basketball squad of the United States, which led the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and considers the game its special preserve.

"Yugoslavia World Basketball Champions. U.S. Sanctions to Follow," predicted one Belgrade wit.

"This is the best day of my life and certainly a historic one for Yugoslavia. It shows that the power of will can produce wonderful things," said Marko, a 28-year old baker.

"It is just what the country needed and we should all follow the example set by our heroes," he added.

Barely an hour after the match, liquor was nowhere to be found in any of the shops or kiosks near the city center.

"We've sold everything we have, there are only a few beverages left," said a shopkeeper at the central Republic Square with a broad smile on his face.

Abundant supplies of alcohol, however, seemed to take their toll later in the night as police reported several minor incidents in which a total of 32 people were slightly injured.

It said it had arrested 77 offenders for unruly conduct and pressed charges against 66 of them.

"I just hope this doesn't get out of hand as some people here don't know what they are doing," an unnamed police officer said as a motorcyclist performed a back-wheel stunt to the delight of a dozen teenage girls looking on.

National dailies splashed the news over their front pages.

In Cacak, central Serbia, brass bands played until dawn. In Banja Luka, capital of Bosnia's Serb Republic, 10,000 filled the central square. They flooded the streets in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, and lit up the sky with fireworks.

In a message of congratulation, President Vojislav Kostunica called the national squad "unbelievably courageous and a little bit crazy," and praised their sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

"The only thing is, you destroy the nerves," he told them.

The team was due to return home from the United States on Tuesday evening, and Belgrade was braced for another night of ecstatic celebration.

Jaric 9, Drobnjak, Divac 3, Vujanic 7, Tomasevic 6, Gurovic 3, Bodiroga 27, Koturovic 3, Cabarkapa, Rakocevic, Stojakovic 26.