The members of Great Britain鈥檚 basketball team stood side by side, their arms slung over each other鈥檚 shoulders, coaches on one end of the row, players on the other.
For 45 seconds before their EuroBasket game in Milan on Thursday afternoon, they listened to the national anthem of Great Britain, with the crescendo building toward the traditional finish.
鈥淕od save the Queen,鈥� some of them sang, perhaps for the final time.
It was a most unusual set of circumstances to play a basketball game, a group of 12 representing their nation less than two hours 鈥� Britain鈥檚 longest-reigning monarch, one who held the throne for 70 years 鈥� was announced.
The outcome didn鈥檛 matter much: the team lost to Italy, 90-56.
鈥淚 mean, she鈥檚 the only leader of our nation that we鈥檝e known,鈥� Great Britain forward Dan Clark said. 鈥淭he amount of respect that she has and the way she鈥檚 carried herself as a leader for so many years and in such a long reign, it鈥檚 remarkable.鈥�
once the Queen's passing was announced, including some golf, cricket, horse racing, rugby and cycling competitions.
In Milan, the Queen鈥檚 life was remembered pregame, a hastily assembled tribute by EuroBasket organizers. After the anthems played and a brief warm-up session took place, the starters from both teams gathered at midcourt just before tip-off for a moment of silence.
Fans applauded politely while a brief tribute to the Queen was read, and then the arena went completely quiet for about 30 seconds. Some in the crowd held the British flag in the air. Britain鈥檚 players stood together in a semi-circle, hands clasped behind their backs for the moment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just hard,鈥� said Britain coach Nathan Reinking, who was born in Ohio and holds dual British-American citizenship. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 who you play for. You play for the country. And she鈥檚 been at the forefront for so many years ... it was a different, challenging situation to go through.鈥�
Britain (0-5) had already been eliminated from the knockout round of the tournament, which serves as the European championships. There were 24 teams that made the group stage; only 16 go to Berlin this weekend to start the next round.
That means it鈥檚 unclear when the next instance of the team standing for the national anthem before a game will take place. But when that happens, now in honor of King Charles III, the anthem will build toward a new ending.
It鈥檒l be 鈥淕od save the King鈥� now.
鈥淚t was a strange, difficult moment,鈥� Reinking said. 鈥淵ou just get through it.鈥�
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Follow AP coverage of Queen Elizabeth II at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
