Team spirit: Aron Baynes scores for Australia in their quarter-final romp. Credit:Joe Armao Four times they have been where this crop of players find themselves - down to the final four after an emphatic quarter final victory over Lithuania - and four times they've walked away empty handed. Now, Australia play Serbia for a place in the gold-medal match at 8am on Saturday (AEST). Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles and Cameron Bairstow have no intention of repeating history and, together with the injured Dante Exum, they went about setting off on a course to create history when they gathered just north of the Mexican border at the start of the year. "It helped just to get together. A lot of us didn't really spend time together as a group," Bogut said. "I hadn't spent a lot of time with Delly, really, or Baynesy. Just to be together and get to know each other's personalities and what makes us tick and what makes us fire. It was just a good weekend. We got to hang out away from basketball." There were no balls thrown. No shots blocked. Just boats, beers (we assume) and bonding on a weekend that provided the Boomers with a genuine sense of pride in the Australian jersey six months out from the start of the Olympics.

Patty Mills scores against Lithuania. Credit:Joe Armao "We spoke nothing about basketball throughout that whole All Star break," Mills said. "It was just a matter of hanging out and having some fun. A lot of good meals and restaurants and just hanging out with each other. Once we got back to Australia we did it again in Uluru in the centre of Australia. "They are all the type of things that brought us closer together as a group and as players. It was a great way to kick-start this whole campaign and find the meaning of why we want to achieve what we've set out to do." While the United States have the best players by the stretch of the Olympic Village, it could be argued the Boomers are playing like the best team at the Rio games. The team chemistry and desire to win at all costs has been the highlight of a campaign that has yielded five wins and just the one loss against the United States.

"We believe that we can beat teams. I've been on teams where you say all that but there is that doubt still there," Bogut said. "But we believe we can beat teams. We come in with that mindset. We've got a resilient group that plays hard ... We've had a lot of success individually. "Delly, Patty, Baynesy and myself have all won a ring and been part of what it takes to be at the pinnacle of the sport. So we kind of understand what the day to day looks like with that and influencing other guys that haven't been there." The pact from the Aussie NBA players to come together during the All Star break was made after last year's FIBA Oceania Championship success in Melbourne in August. They vowed to build on the camaraderie that had developed during the series against New Zealand, showing just how much the jersey meant to them by coming together in San Diego.

"The NBA guys at that point made a commitment that during the All Star break, rather than going on and spending time individually with their families, that they would all spend time together and continue that connection and commitment to the Boomers program," coach Andrej Lemanis said. All aboard the SS Boomer in San Diego. Credit:Matthew Dellavedova/Instagram "True to their word, come NBA All Star break they all got together in San Diego and spent quality time together." The big three of Bogut, Mills and Dellavedova have had an enormous impact on the interest in basketball in Australia in recent years, especially considering at least one of them has featured in the last four NBA finals. So much so, Lemanis was surprised with the level of interest in the Boomers at the Rio Olympics following their victory over Lithuania.

"It's good to see so many Australian media here too, by the way," Lemanis joked during the press conference. "You know basketball has been around for a while in Australia? Over 100 years or something like that." While the modern-day ability to access all NBA games has played a part in the sport's growth, there's no doubting the significance of Bogut, Mills and Dellavedova's accomplishments in the world's premier basketball competition. "What they do is keep it relevant by what they've been able to do overseas through the NBA marketing," Lemanis said. Loading "We've got some penetration into the Australian media and Australian media channels because of the success of those guys. If you look back through it, the first one to do it was Luc Longley (Boomers assistant coach).

"I don't think he sometimes gets the recognition he deserves for what he's done establishing Australian basketball on the international stage and opening the doors for others to fire like the Boguts, the Mills and the Dellavedovas. "