Anadolu Efes win EuroLeague social responsibility honor

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish side Anadolu Efes have won the EuroLeague’s social responsibility award for the second year in a row, the basketball league announced on Wednesday.

Anadolu Efes won the One Team Gold Award for their work helping a group of special athletes in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul with their personal development and integration into the community.

"I feel very proud for my club and my colleagues," Utku Yusuf Ozciger, Efes' One Team manager, said on EuroLeague's website.

"Together with our knowledge in basketball and communication, we combined to create a great One Team program to integrate special athletes into the community using basketball skills."

In the program, Anadolu Efes worked with psychologists and physiotherapists from the Beylikduzu Municipality.

The annual awards ceremony is created to celebrate the successes of the program, which was carried out last season by all 42 teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

One Team – Euroleague Basketball's social responsibility program – uses basketball to achieve meaningful social impact in communities across Europe and is supported by every club in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

The One Team program has helped more than 22,000 participants through its various team-focused projects since 2012.