Olympiacos, Armani Exchange and Zalgiris among the One Team Awards winners / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Zalgiris Kaunas Credit Zalgiris Kaunas

The winners of the annual One Team Awards have been announced, and Zalgiris Kaunas was one of the laureates.

One Team, founded in 2012 with the backing of Turkish Airlines and enjoying the long-time proud partnership of Special Olympics, is EuroLeague Basketball’s social responsibility program, which sees clubs from all over Europe use the power of basketball to support vulnerable members of their local communities.

The 2020-21 season saw many clubs improve their programs despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced clubs to find new ways of connecting with their One Team participants. The achievements of the last year and plans for the future have all been discussed at the One Team Annual Workshop, including the awards presentation.

“I would like to thank all the participating teams for their commitment to this program. Last season we were all tested by the global circumstances, and One Team perfectly symbolizes the capacity to overcome difficulties with hard work and solidarity,” stated Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball CEO. “Congratulations to all the awarded programs, and I would like to invite you all to enjoy the celebrations we will stage this season for the tenth anniversary of One Team.”

The awards announced by the judges were One Team Bronze Program: Zalgiris Kaunas; One Team Silver Program: AX Armani Exchange Milan; One Team Gold Program: Olympiacos Piraeus.

Zalgiris One Team Manager Akvile Dagilyte commented: “It feels so good to be among the top three clubs. All the clubs made a great effort in such difficult circumstances. And the real reward is that we, together with all clubs, managed to achieve a great impact in our local communities in this difficult time. And this was the time when our communities needed the One Team program the most.”

The other teams named on the initial shortlist for the awards were Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, Unicaja Malaga, and Zenit St Petersburg.

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