Emus to celebrate 20th anniversary of gold medal at Kings game

Twenty years have passed since the Emus won the FIBA under 19 world championships gold medal - one of the landmark moments in Australian men's basketball history.

Spearheaded by now Sydney Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut, the green and gold side defeated Lithuania 126-92 in the final in Greece.

"That whole time of our life was a whirlwind, starting with the majority of our well-orchestrated group spending a lot of time together at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport)," said Bogut, who admits the European teams were caught off guard by his side's style of pressing, trapping and zone on the defensive.

"After not doing too well at the 2002 Albert Schwietzer Tournament [in Germany] and then winning a pre-tournament competition in Greece, we went into those world champs not knowing what to expect.

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"But we started the world champs well, winning all our games before dropping a second-round game to Lithuania.

"Because of that defeat, our backs were against the wall against the US [featuring the likes of Deron Williams, JJ Redick and Ryan Hollins], needing to beat them by more than eight just to progress to the semi-finals - which thankfully we did, downing them by 22.

"As we won by so much, it actually knocked the US out of the tournament too, while booking our spot in the semis - where we easily accounted for Croatia (97-84 in a game in which Bogut had 39 points on 14-of-22 shooting and 25 rebounds).

"This gave us another go at Lithuania in the final, which we made the most of by winning by a record margin at the time.

"Everything that we had worked for over those two years came to fruition in that game, which was extremely satisfying - especially being the first time to ever achieve this.

"You have to remember that, back then, Australia hadn't had much medal success to speak of on the men's side (with the gold medal at the 1997 FIBA 22 and Under Men's World Championship being the exception), which included a lot of fourth place finishes with the senior men's team."

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Echoing Bogut's sentiments is head coach Rob Beveridge - who says the time since that landmark gold medal has 'flown by'.

"Although we knew we had a special group, the best thing about it was that there were no egos and everyone was a great teammate to one another," said Beveridge, who went on to coach in the NBL with Perth and Illawarra.

"We had a great blend of talent, which all accepted their roles early - such as the defensive studs like Damian Martin and Brad Robbins - in our hard-arsed, selfless, Australian team that never took a backward step.

"We knew we were going to get after people, pick them up full-court and push the tempo - an identity that everyone embraced and didn't lose anything if we made subs.

"They were a joy to coach, especially in the gold medal game, which to this day was one of the easiest games I've ever coached - where the players were locked in and at another level, with all I having to do is sub them in and out.

"It was an amazing and very memorable moment in my coaching career.

"Further to that, as a coach, watching them go on to achieve what they all have - on and off the court - has been incredible and something I'm very proud of."

As landmark as the moment was, Bogut admits there was little publicity around the achievement, as it was in a time pre-social media, which was disappointing.

But he acknowledges how much of a boost it gave to everyone in the country's basketball circles as to what Australia can achieve on the world stage.

Highlighting how special that team was the fact all 12 players on the roster, including Bogut, former Kings Aleks Maric, Steven Markovic, Aaron Bruce, Blagoj Janev and Brad Newley, Martin, Robbins, Sam Harris, Rhys Carter, Matthew Knight and Mitch Selwood, all played professionally during their careers - which is rare for junior national teams in this country.

To that, following this tournament, all the players and staff, including Beveridge, Marty Clarke, Tony Ward, Graham Lee, Bob McGugan and Simon Roberts, went their separate ways and followed their own hoops journeys.

Bogut, who was named MVP of that tournament ahead of Lithuania's Linas Kleiza, used that gold medal as a catapult into a strong career at the University of Utah but then into the NBA - where he played 706 games across 15 seasons with Milwaukee, Golden State, Dallas, Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland.

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As such, now two decades on, that historic team will come together for the first time since that moment at this Sunday's Kings and Breakers fixture at Qudos Bank Arena.

"When that tournament ended, everyone - myself included - was flying all over the world to pursue our own individual careers - so we couldn't have even had a five or 10-year reunion for this if we tried," King #199 said.

"So that's why Sunday will be so special, as it'll be the first time we're all back together, in the same room, since that gold medal - it's a historic moment that I'm really excited for.

"Some may say it's just an under 19s team but when you're part of a special group that does something that no one in this country has ever done before - through all the highs and lows - it's worth celebrating."

On the day, the team will be brought onto the court during a break in play of the Kings and Breakers Indigenous Round game at Qudos Bank Arena, which Beveridge feels is a fitting tribute.

"Since momentum started about this reunion, the banter in the group chat has been awesome, allowing us to remember so many great memories from 20 years ago," said Beveridge.

"A big mantra of this group from the beginning was 'never forget where you came from' and that still holds true to this day, as most of us still stay in touch to this day - which is the beauty of this sport.

"As such, Sunday is going to be so much fun and an event we're all thoroughly looking forward to.

"Obviously a big driver of this has been Bogues, so I'd like to give him and the whole Kings organisation a big thank you for helping us get this all together because unfortunately things do get forgotten over time and I'm glad this hasn't."

Tickets to the Kings' Indigenous Round fixture, tipping off at 3.45pm at Qudos Bank Arena, are still available here.