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U.S. Olympic team member Shawn Marion (NBA Phoenix Suns) and Special Olympics Serbia & Montenegro athlete Dragan Zivotic shake hands and exchange gifts prior to the exhibition game at the Belgrade Arena. [Photos courtesy Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia. |
Eurosport, the leading sports television channel in Europe, featured basketball players from Special Olympics Serbia & Montenegro at an exhibition game between the U.S. and Serbia & Montenegro (SaM) Olympic basketball teams. A crowd of 12, 6245 enjoyed the game on 6 August 2004 at the brand-new Belgrade Arena, the largest sports facility in Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro. The exhibition took place three days after the SaM Olympic basketball team won the men's FIBA Diamond Ball 2004, 31 July – 3 August 2004.
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Special Olympics Serbia & Montenegro athletes Dragan Zivotic and Goran Stjepanovic show the basketballs they have prepared as gifts for the U.S. and Serbia & Montenegro Olympic basketball teams. |
The event provided wide exposure for the talents of the Special Olympics athletes. Eurosport is the most widely available television channel in Europe, reaching more than 98 million homes and 250 million viewers in 54 countries. More than 96 percent of Eurosport’s viewers can watch their favorite sports in their native language.
The Special Olympics athletes exchanged gifts with both the U.S. and SaM Olympic teams, and wished them luck at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. “[U.S. team members Allen] Iverson and [Tim] Duncan are my heroes,” said Dalibor Randjelovic, from Special Olympics Pirot (SaM). Randjelovic scored four three-pointers at the recent Special Olympics Macedonia National Games, and is now practicing his shooting for the Special Olympics European Basketball Tournament to be held in Belgrade in 2005.
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From left, Special Olympics athlete Marko Terzic, who won a gold medal in the 100-meters at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games; Goran Stjepanovic, UEFA football ambassador; Radmila Hrustanovic, Mayor of the city of Belgrade; and Dragan Zivotic, Special Olympics Serbia & Montenegro athlete. The city of Belgrade pledged to support the Special Olympics European Basketball Tournament, scheduled to be held in Belgrade in 2005. |
Preparations already are underway for the Tournament, which will attract teams from 24 countries. The tournament will be held prior to the 2005 European Basketball Championship at the Belgrade Arena. The Tournament is an essential part of the Special Olympics Basketball Development Project, which will bring opportunities to 15,000 new players with intellectual disabilities in the Europe/Eurasia region by 2006.
Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia is working in partnership with FIBA Europe on the Development Project, which will focus on expanding men’s and women’s basketball; establishing Unified Sports® basketball, in which players with and without intellectual disabilities participate on the same team; recruiting and training new coaches; creating a network of national Special Olympics basketball coordinators; and involving as partners FIBA Europe and national basketball federations and clubs in at least 30 countries in the region.
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U.S. Olympic team member Tim Duncan (NBA San Antonio Spurs) and Special Olympics Serbia & Montenegro athlete Neso Matic shake hands and exchange gifts prior to the exhibition game at the Belgrade Arena. Duncan finished as Team USA's top scorer with 19 points. |
Nar Zanolin, Executive Director, FIBA Europe, and Michael Smith, Managing Director, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, signed the partnership agreement to develop basketball for players with intellectual disabilities on 19 May 2004 in Rhodes, Greece. The signing took place during the basketball finals of the Special Olympics Education through Sports Festival, which was held 14-21 May 2004 and organized by Special Olympics Hellas (Greece). “Our philosophy is to provide opportunities for everyone to participate in basketball." said Zanolin. "That is why we are proud to accept Special Olympics into our family, and we will do our best to support this very special group.”
The FIBA Diamond Ball gathers the top teams from each continent to determine the unofficial World Champion every year. With the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens quickly approaching, the competition served as a warm-up event for six Olympic basketball teams: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Lithuania, People’s Republic of China and SaM. China's star player, Yao Ming, welcomed to the Special Olympics family as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador in June, was named the Most Valuable Player in the tournament.
Building on the success of the men's tournament, the first FIBA Women's Diamond Ball (2004) took place in Iraklion, Greece and followed the men's tournament, 5-8 August 2004. The national teams from the countries of Australia, Brazil, China, Greece, Korea and Nigeria were invited to compete. |
