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Sasha Vezenkov is gone from Euroleague but he’s still winning awards

Sasha Vezenkov, now of the Sacramento Kings, was honoured by Euroleague Basketball for his work with Olympiacos
September 15, 2023

Sasha Vezenkov may be gone to the Sacramento Kings but he was honoured for his off the court work during his final Euroleague season with Olympiacos. The winners of the top prize were Olimpia Milano

We all know that Sasha Vezenkov has that vibe on the court. It turns out that he has it in his social endeavours too. Vezenkov won big at the One Team awards, which Euroleague Basketball uses to recognise social responsibility endeavours. Here’s a breakdown on all the winners, including the Sacramento Kings man.




“Thank you all for doing this hard work, I know it requires a lot of energy,” said Paulius Motiejunas, Euroleague Basketball CEO. “The challenges are becoming bigger, but you are handling them with greater energy and commitment, so thank you all for doing this hard job. No matter who wins, congratulations to everyone that has been awarded but also to those who were not nominated; I know your impact is enormous on each country that you represent, each city that you represent and each project that you do. For us, it’s an amazing honor to see you doing this.”

Milan’s One Team Gold Programme triumph

Milan opted to once again partner with Laureus Sport for Good Italia, but new allies were involved in the club’s One Team programme, too. The Italian side put on awareness sessions to more than 100 participants in a school. It also put on different events such as One Team Day, auctions and parallel activities relating to its work with One Team. These sessions brought together at-risk youth as Milan sought to promote community cohesion through its programme.

Milan’s One Team ambassadors from last year – Kyle Hines and Gigi Datome – were a regular presence at the sessions put on by the club. The numerous programme’s appearances on important Italian media outlets showed also the good way in which the club used its communication channels to good effect.

“Finally we got [the One Team Gold Programe award] after a five-year wait; having gone from third place to second place, now we’ve got it,” stated Michele Samaden, Milan’s One Team manager. “We are very proud of it. We want to thank our community partner, Laureus, and our commercial partner, Scalo Milano, for supporting us throughout the season. I also want to thank the wonderful One Team organization that helps us every time that we need assistance.”

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Olympiacos grabs the One Team Silver Programme award

Olympiacos, the recipient of the One Team Gold Programme prize in 2021-22 and 2022-23, had great involvement from its ambassadors – Sasha Vezenkov and Kostas Papanikolaou – during last season. Working with 1st Special Elementary School of Agios Dimitrios, which works with children with intellectual disabilities from the region of Athens, the Reds had 39 participants take part in the sessions, of which 25 were new. This was the first time playing basketball for 43 per cent of the group.

The support of its sponsor, as well as different partners, allowed Olympiacos to make the most of its One Team sessions. Different events were celebrated as well, such as Earth Day and the 10th anniversary of One Team, while volunteers also had their part to play in the One Team project by offering support and making videos.

“We are so lucky that, as part of our jobs, we can give people and children the opportunity to smile and shine,” noted Olympiacos’s One Team manager, Penelope Giovanovits. “As part of the One Team programme, coaches and volunteers from every club come together to cooperate for something great. This [One Team Silver Programme award] is a great achievement and it gives us lots of satisfaction.”

FC Barcelona wins the One Team Bronze Programme trophy

Through a long-running programme between October and June, Barcelona achieved good results during its partnership with the General Directorate of the Juvenile Penitentiary Center (CPJ). There was engagement throughout from the inmates, who were able to build on the things they had learned in previous sessions and work on values that can help them on their future reintegration into society.

Barca organized a programme that included clear objectives and detailed session plans, making it easier for the participants to understand exactly what they would be doing or learning about.

“This is an award that comes as a result of the hard work that we have been doing throughout the whole season,” commented Alex Canals, Barcelona’s One Team manager. “It’s been very challenging to make the activities as successful as possible, but in the end we got there. We look back on last season’s One Team programme with a lot of pride.”

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Sasha Vezenkov: winner of the One Team Ambassador award

Vezenkov helped guide Olympiacos to the EuroLeague Championship Game in the 2022-23 season. This helped him secure the EuroLeague MVP trophy but off the court, together with Kostas Papanikolaou, he was active in the Reds’ One Team programme. His great involvement in the sessions, in which he showed interest and curiosity regarding the kids’ problems, together with his enthusiasm and energy in all the activities he was involved in made a big impact on the positive evolution of the participants during the whole year.

The 28-year-old did his all to help where possible, too, such as asking what he can do to aid Olympiacos’s One Team efforts with getting donations at Christmas. What’s more, he went out of his way to explain the One Team programme to his teammates and played a role in arranging for them to visit sessions.

Bourg lands the Judges’ Award for Club Commitment

One of the keys to Bourg’s One Team sessions during last season was the way in which it emphasized the participants’ need for independence. Several partners got involved with the programme in order to aid the efforts of Bourg, which also had three players from the under-21 side take part in coaching drills for those involved. Throughout various sessions, the impressive management and enthusiastic commitment from Bourg ensured that the programme was able to achieve its goals.

The Judges’ Award for Perseverance goes to Trento

Trento put together an innovative and challenging One Team programme in 2022-23, which involved the club working with inmates aged between 26 and 35. In challenging circumstances, One Team ambassadors Mattia Udom and Toto Forray showed a good level of involvement during the sessions.

There were clear, strong objectives that were set for the participants, which had good links to day-to-day life skills. There were some challenges for those running Trento’s One Team programme, such as a challenging set of participants and a complicated situation with the social partner as it was a prison, but they persevered and were able to overcome some tricky obstacles.

Sep 15, 2023Emmet Ryan
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Emmet Ryan
1 year ago EuroLeagueAleksandar Vezenkov, One Team, Sasha Vezenkov
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