By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
During the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four Athens, presented by Etihad, the One Team social responsibility program successfully united local rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos AKTOR through a series of collaborative community events.
The week-long initiative brought together 75 international volunteers for life-skills training, hosted integrated fan zones, and paired athletes with intellectual disabilities alongside Special Olympics Hellas and adidas NextGen players.
Additional details were announced on Wednesday.
Per the press release: “Athens has always known how to make basketball feel like something bigger than a game. During the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four, One Team – Euroleague Basketball’s social responsibility program – made sure that spirit extended well beyond the court.
The week opened on Thursday with a welcome session for 75 volunteers drawn from across Europe and beyond, and led by the One Team coaches from Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. After a warm-up activity that brought everyone together, the group rotated through four stations focused on communication, confidence and teamwork, the same life skills that sit at the core of One Team’s work year-round. One Team Ambassador Joe Arlauckas returned for another year to help lead the session, and a trophy photo opportunity rounded off the afternoon.
The volunteers themselves captured what made the day matter.
“Being a EuroLeague volunteer allows me to discover how the competition works while connecting with people from all over the world,” said Maria Tritou, 29, from Greece.
On Friday, One Team opened its FanZone activations with an Olympiacos Piraeus session rooted in the club’s dedicated One Team school program with Elementary School Piraeus. Children had the chance to play basketball and work some important life skills in a space designed to feel unlike anything they had experienced before, a first taste of what the program can offer right in the heart of Final Four week.
Saturday produced one of the most striking images of the entire event. Despite the rain, a joint session went ahead on schedule, and the weather only seemed to sharpen the focus. Participants with intellectual disabilities from both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos One Team programs shared the court together, rivals in name only on a day that was entirely about what they had in common.
“This is a great chance for us, for Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, to share a court, some values, share inclusivity, and feel important all together,” said Michalis Stefanidis, One Team Manager at Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
Penny Giovanovits, One Team Manager at Olympiacos Piraeus, put it simply: “The social awareness and bringing them together is really a unique opportunity.”
Sunday brought a new dimension to the week. Participants with disabilities from Panathinaikos One Team program, in collaboration with Special Olympics Hellas, were joined on the court by six adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals players, with representatives from all competing teams watching from the stands and cheering them on. The session was designed with purpose: to show the next generation of European basketball players that social responsibility isn’t an add-on, it’s part of what the game is for.
Later that afternoon, a group of One Team program participants from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos were recognized at halftime of the adidas NextGen EuroLeague Championship Game. Standing alongside Joe Arlauckas at center court, they received a long round of applause from the crowd, a moment of visibility that no scoreline could replicate.
Throughout the week, One Team was also present in the FanZone with a new initiative, Climate Shelters in the venue offered fans a sustainable space to rest out of the sun and learn more about One Team’s mission, with program banners on display to prompt curiosity and conversation.
In Athens, One Team proved once again that the Final Four is about more than who lifts the trophy.”
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