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Euroleague Academy season ends on high note in Athens

Peristeri celebrated as the champion of the inaugural EuroLeague Academy Tournament Athens U13 on Thursday at Palais Gym in the Galatasi neighborhood of Athens. The winners defeated Panionios in the last seconds of the final by a tight 57-54 score. The last of the EuroLeague Academy Tournaments for the 2018-19 season was made possible through the support and cooperation of local Turkish Airlines EuroLeague side Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and its PAO BC Academy. The event was the second EuroLeague Academy Tournament in Athens this season after the U12 tournament in late May.

The EuroLeague Academy Tournament Athens U13 featured eight teams of boys born in 2006 or later, with a total of 124 participants chasing the trophy. The teams were made up of players from local clubs and academies as well as the Platon School. The top four teams advanced to the semifinals played in a Final Four format. Peristeri defeated PAO BC Academy and Panionios bested Platon School in Wednesday's semifinals.

This tournament brought the 2018-19 EuroLeague Academy season to a close. The first season saw a total of five tournaments held in Athens, Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Vitoria, with 869 boys and girls from 64 teams participating in the games. At each stop, many current and former EuroLeague players and ambassadors came out to help teach and motivate the young athletes. Some events even saw children interviewing players and ambassadors as reporters and there was a theatrical performance for the young audience during the EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz. With the success of the EuroLeague Academy in its first season, Euroleague Basketball is looking forward to developing the project even more in the coming seasons.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD PICTURES FROM THE EVENT HERE

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages and organizes the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational programs. Its ground-breaking corporate social responsibility program One Team features 40 clubs that have already made a difference in the lives of over 16,000 participants. Its Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.

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