The Patissia neighborhood in central Athens has reasons to celebrate after two refurbished basketball courts were presented on Tuesday through the One Team-BKT Legacy Project.
One Team-BKT Legacy Project opens refurbished courts in Athens
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The Legacy Project is a cooperation between BKT, the Indian multinational company that specializes in the production of Off-Highway tires, and Euroleague Basketball’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, One Team, together with its Founding Patron Turkish Airlines and with the support of the Athens Municipality through its “Adopt your City” program. The goal of the Legacy Project is to improve the lives of youngsters and people in need or at risk of exclusion by providing better facilities to play basketball.
One Team’s mission is to use basketball as a tool to achieve social impact in our communities. The Legacy Project is an example of identifying areas, such as Patissia, with a need for better facilities to upgrade the daily life of the residents by promoting sports values like teamwork, healthy habits and social inclusion.
The court opening was attended by representatives of Euroleague Basketball, BKT and the City of Athens including Lucia Salmaso, Managing Director of BKT Europe; Kimon Stefos, Corporate Partnerships and Licensing Sales Director for Euroleague Basketball; Kostas Bakoyannis, the Mayor of Athens; and Euroleague Basketball Ambassador, Sofoklis Schortsanitis.
"It is a great honour for Euroleague Basketball to be back in Athens to open these new courts in the Patissa district," Stefos said. "These courts are an example of what the One Team – BKT Legacy Project can achieve. We really hope that this refurbishment can be beneficial for the community and we would like to thank BKT once again for supporting us in initiatives like these.”
“BKT's activities go far beyond tire production: we are strongly committed to being alongside people, even in moments of fun, above all through sport,” Salmaso said. “We want to leave our mark, to be recognized as a company that cares about people and the environment. This project in Athens shows that our commitment is real and tangible, that the values we believe in such as inclusion, respect and collaboration can help the community. We are enthusiastic to continue our journey with One Team, in order to add value and make a real contribution to local communities.”
“Adopt your City is a program that fosters community engagement and enhances the overall well-being of Athenians. All sectors of society coming together and actively cooperating towards making Athens a friendlier, more sustainable and resilient city,” Mayor Bakoyannis said. “ I am thus grateful to Euroleague Basketball and BKT for their generous contribution in renovating and revitalizing two beloved basketball courts in the Patissia neighborhood. Athenian children now have two more state-of-the-art sports facilities to have fun and chase their dreams!
"The kids will get an opportunity to play together and have fun together," Schortsanitis said at the event. "I am very happy and I wholeheartedly support this initiative."
The event featured a special 3x3 tournament with special inclusive rules, which stipulate that a player cannot score consecutive baskets and all three players must touch the ball before one can shoot. Eight teams, each consisting of two boys and two girls, from nearby neighborhoods participated in the tournament.
The court refurbishment marks the second edition of the One Team-BKT Legacy Project. Last year, the first such courts were opened in Istanbul.
About BKT:
For more than 30 years, Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT) has successfully focused on specialized segments such as agriculture, construction and industrial, as well as earthmoving, port and mining, ATV and landscaping operations. BKT as a company has managed to focus its attention on people and the planet ahead of business and profit and moves naturally within virtuous business parameters. Every year the company organizes many different international social initiatives and supports the most vulnerable, such as children, and fundraising activities for countries hit by deforestation or by weather-related events.
BKT also aims to put people and their well-being at the center through numerous sport sponsorships and related activations worldwide. BKT shares the One Team ideology and loves sport because it fully reflects its corporate philosophy: fair play, teamwork, respect, commitment, and the importance of sharing. Sport is a powerful tool to act as a vehicle for positive and constructive values, and a global language of emotions, allowing a whole community to grow.
About One Team:
One Team, supported by Turkish Airlines as the One Team Founding Patron and with the collaboration of Special Olympics as Proud Partner, uses basketball to achieve real social impact in our communities.
With an innovative model of interconnectedness across an entire continent, Euroleague Basketball and its clubs have developed a complete CSR program that brings together activities from each team in an integrated, impactful way, working under the theme of "community integration" that actively addresses targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 (on reduced inequalities).