No 5. PETER DEMETROPOULOS (DEMOS)
6 feet 1 inch (185cm) Guard
1956 Olympic Games
The 1954 final of the Australian Men’s Basketball Championships in Brisbane was very intense and physical. It was between South Australia the defending champions and the Victorians. South Australia had won its first ever Australian Men’s Basketball title the year before in Adelaide and was determined to stay champions. The cream of Australia’s talent was in the game. Many of the players had European backgrounds, some were refugees from Displaced Persons Camps, and they were tough and resilient. Peter Demos the Victorian guard was as tough as most. Peter had represented Greece and had played in the tough European championships and was a key player for Victoria. There was a clash of players and Peter went down. Knocked out cold! He was carried off the court. The crowd could sense the momentum changing towards the South Australians. However Peter returned to the court and his inspiring courage lifted his team-mates, and Victoria went on to win the game and the title. Peter was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament. Peter’s courage has become part of the folklore of “big plays” in Australian Championship Finals.
Peter Demetropoulos (Demos) was born in Athens, Greece on August 14th 1925.He started playing basketball at twelve years of age for his local club Panathinaikos. He played with Panathinaikos for twelve years. It was not long before he was in the senior team for theClub. The PanathinaikosClub played in the European League as well as the Greek Club competition and Peter travelled to countries such as France, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, Egypt and others to play basketball. Of course his playing years with Panathinaikos was limited by the Second World War and the German invasion of Greece. After the war basketball resumed at the national level and Peter became captain of the Greek national basketball team in 1948 (he was 23 years of age). He would hold this position as captain until 1950.
A highlight for the 6’1” champion guard was second place for the Greek National Team in the European Basketball Championships that were held in Cairo, Egypt in 1950. Greece lost the Final by two points to France, the 1948 London Olympic Basketball Silver medallists.
Tragedy and opportunity were to change Peter’s life. His parents had passed away and money was in short supply. He was conscripted into the Greek army for compulsory two years military service. Peter served one year in the army. He was looking for an opportunity to establish himself and to get out of the army. That opportunity came from an unexpected source when he was sponsored to Australia to take up employment and involvement in a smallgoods company in Sydney. He felt there was now nothing to keep him in Greece so in a “leap of faith” he accepted the opportunity and challenge of coming to Australia.
Peter emigrated to Sydney Australia in September, 1950. Shortly afterwards he took another “leap of faith” to work and play basketball in Melbourne.He moved to Melbourne and played for the YMCA Basketball Club.
Prior to the 1956 Olympic Games Peter represented Victoria for five years and had been named to the All Australian Team four times.
Peter was a high scoring guard, able to shoot with either hand, drive to the basket with skill, and possessed a deadly two handed outside shot.
In 1954 he was a member of the Victorian State Team that won the Australian Championships.
Peter represented Australia between 1953 and 1957. According to a local paper in 1956 Peter turned in “one of the most brilliant performances of his career to score 39 points against the Mormon Yankees in the Victorian Championships.”
In 1956 Peter was cleared by FIBA to represent Australia at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
This was an unusual situation at this time as he became one of the few people to represent the national teams of two countries. (Les Hody had played for Hungary before the war and after migrating to Australia in 1956 did not become an Australian citizen until the 1960’s. He was then selected in the Australian team for the 1964 Olympics.)
The preparation and the lack of time together limited the Australian 1956 Olympic Team’s performances in Melbourne.The team only came together a week or so before the Olympics and half of the team had trained by “correspondence” under Coach Ken Watson. The Australian Olympic Team gave a good account of itself and came 12th in the Olympic Tournament. Peter was one of the stars for the Australian Team as his experience in the tough European competitions stood him in good stead.
Peter will always cherish the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1956 Olympics. “They were special because it was all natural and not computerised. There were pigeons released, balloons, immense spirit and the atmosphere in the Village was extremely friendly, especially between the Russians and the Americans,” said Peter.
He also cites the performances of Vladimir Kuts in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres track as special. “He was absolutely fantastic and annihilated the whole field”.
Peter married in Victoria and had three children before returning to Sydneyas owner and operator of Sutton Forest Smallgoods in Newtown, Sydney. It was to become quite a successful enterprise. He retired from basketball playing at the age of 33 in 1958.
He stayed involved in basketball and became Chairman of the Sydney Supersonics in the National Basketball League (NBL). When the Supersonics and the Bankstown Bruins combined to form the Sydney Kings Peter retired from basketball administration. He continued to follow and support the Sydney Kings.
He also continued to follow the fortunes of his beloved Panathinaikos Club which today still ranks as one of Greece’s premier men’s basketball teams.
In 1992 in an interview for a Sydney Greek newspaper Peter was asked for a tip for young players. He replied. “There is no other way for talent to develop other than by hard work, especially with things the way they are today. To all youngsters who want to succeed, get yourselves a basketball and get control of it at the early stages and also get a basket and ring somewhere in your back yard.”
Peter Demos was a pioneer in Olympic Basketball for Australia his adopted country. He brought his substantial basketball skills and experience to Australia at a time when the game was to begin a rapid growth phase. As a member of the nation’s first Olympic Basketball Team he paved the way for others to follow.
Peter Demos passed away in January 2011. He was 86 years of age.
The Greek National Basketball Team with Peter Demos 4th from the left
(Courtesy of the Demos family)
Peter Demos (Demos family)
Below: Peter Demos drives to the basket in a Club match (P. Demos)