Final Four stars thrilled One Team participants at the FanZone

Members from all four clubs attended on Saturday morning

One of the best parts about Final Four weekend – apart from the basketball on the court – is when the players from the four clubs come along to enjoy a One Team session. This year, that took place at the FanZone on Saturday morning, with plenty of fans also present to see some of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s biggest stars join forces with the One Team participants from ALBA Berlin.

Enjoying the activities were Juancho Hernangomez and Kostas Antetokounmpo from Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Eli Ndiaye from Real Madrid, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul duo Nigel Hayes-Davis and Georgios Papagiannis, and Olympiacos Piraeus pair Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis.

The players joined ALBA’s One Team participants for some One Team drills that were led by ALBA’s One Team coaches, which instantly brought lots of smiles to everyone’s faces.

“It’s always good to give back and do nice things, to try to be a face, a pillar in the community, an inspiration and try to spread joy,” said Nigel Hayes-Davis. “It’s always good to get out and do something like this. The main goal is to make sure the kids enjoy themselves, and I think they had a good time today. They were playing basketball with people they watch play on TV. Perhaps some of the kids look up to some of us as idols or some of their favorite players, so to be able to get out there and interact with them, take pictures, play games is hopefully an experience that will inspire them and be something that they’ll remember and enjoy.”

Once all the drills had finished, an exhibition game took place as the Final Four players were split between the two teams, with ALBA’s One Team participants also being split across the two teams. The kids were able to receive passes from their favorite places and try to score, or vice versa. The stuff of dreams!

“I’m really happy that I could take part [today],” noted Juancho Hernangomez. “I’ve had a really good year [assisting with One Team] with my team, Panathinaikos, and it’s truly an honor for me to help. I’m really glad, really happy. It fills me with joy, I love doing things to help people. Even just being with them in a photo, a video is something great for them. To bring a smile to their faces is the best feeling there is.”

ALBA’s One Team program this season aims to support socially disadvantaged children and young teenagers from the Lisa-Tetzner-Schule elementary school, which is located in a socio-economically challenging area of Berlin.

“You can see how much everyone enjoys it – from the players to the kids,” commented Kostas Papanikolaou. “It’s an amazing thing, it’s an amazing initiative. It started many years ago and still up to this day, it provides a lot of smiles, a lot of good things for everyone. I really, really enjoy being here and participating in these events.”

The One Team program implemented by ALBA is embedded in the club’s nationwide SPORT VERNETZT initiative, a project which seeks to bring the community together and help them develop an excitement for physical activities, as well as use basketball as a tool to focus on teamwork, integration, motivation communication and tolerance.

“It’s incredible that we can help the kids, that they enjoy themselves with us and that they can play with us,” added Eli Ndiaye. “It’s an honor to share this experience with them. The truth is that that it’s great as the kids get to have fun in an incredible way.”