All Star Game: “Basketball supports the effort to return life to its rhythm in Karditsa”

The informal jamball of the 26th All Star Game took place at the new Karditsa town hall, with the press conference of the organizing committee and now the countdown has begun for the celebration of Greek basketball which will be held at the indoor “Yiannis Bourousi” on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 December.

Evangelos Galatsopoulos (chairman of ESAKE): “We feel great joy as ESAKE and professional basketball to be here, with you, in Karditsa a few days before the first All Star Game that will be hosted in your city and in the new indoor gym, which bears the name of Giannis Bourousis, a “glory ” of Greek sports, which is the “birthplace” of Karditsa. The All Star Game is an institution that has stood the test of time. The match that will take place in Karditsa, under the auspices of the Region of Thessaly and the Municipality of Karditsa, is the 26th. It has stood the test of time because it is a celebratory two-day event that reminds us, especially in the difficult times we are going through, that basketball is a game. That sport teaches respect for the opponent. That sport offers and transmits, joy and not hatred.

The All Star Game, which we co-organize with the Panhellenic Association of Paid Basketball Players and now Female Basketball Players, with the help of the Coaches Association and the Wheelchair Basketball Federation, has also stood the test of time because it develops the sport throughout Greece.

By hosting the majority of All Star Games in the region, we achieve decentralization. We give the fans of the region the opportunity to see up close the top basketball players of the Stoiximan Basket League as well as some of the top players of the Euroleague and the Basketball Champions League! A possibility that they don’t often have in contrast to what happens in Thessaloniki and especially in Athens. This year’s All Star Game has an extra meaning and value! We come to Karditsa a few months after the disaster caused by the bad weather Daniel.

I must congratulate the local authorities, the Region and the Municipality, as well as KAE Karditsa JAPONIKI for the very quick – based on the extent of the damage – restoration of the new closed gymnasium “Yiannis Bourousis”, so that the team can compete normally in home, after the first matches of the Championship and to have the All Star Game, as originally planned.

With its presence here, professional basketball supports Karditsa and the surrounding areas. It supports the effort to find life, economic and social, the rhythms it had before the bad weather Daniel.

In fact, we combine the All Star Game with social actions to help the affected areas and we repay with our presence here the love of the fans of Karditsa and Thessaly for basketball.

ESAKE with the All Star Game makes basketball one with society, creates healthy role models for the youth away from violence and drugs, celebrates with the Thessalians and shares with them the magic, passion, values ​​of basketball, upgrades overall Greek sports in international standards!

I want to thank everyone in Karditsa, from the Head of the District and the Mayor to the last volunteer of Karditsa JAPONIKI, because from the first moment that the All Star Game was commissioned by ESAKE, they do everything to organize a successful “Celebration”. A “Holiday” that will be enjoyed by all of us. I invite all the fans, young and old, of Karditsa and the surrounding areas, to come to the New Indoor Gymnasium “Yiannis Bourousis” on the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, to live the experience of the All Star Game. Worth. To play basketball in the “3 on 3” tournament, to watch the Wheelchair Basketball All Star Game and the All Time Stars on Saturday. And on Sunday to have fun with the show we have prepared, the music and dance groups, the cheerleaders, to take part in competitions.

And certainly to watch the top players of the Stoiximan Basket League and from the top players of the Euroleague and the Basketball Champions League and the EuroCup, in Sunday’s Main Game and in the Three-Point and Nail Contests.”

Konstantinos Agorastos (Regional Governor of Thessaly): “Thank you very much to ESAKE and the president Mr. Galatsopoulos. I thank all the athletes who will be in Karditsa for the first time. And they will be here because we have built a state-of-the-art closed. Karditsa celebrates, sports celebrates. Sport is health, it is life. I thank the president of ESAKE, the mayor, Karditsa IAPONIKI and Yannis Bourousis, who has the stadium named after him. People should be close to the team and I hope it stays in the Stoiximan Basket League.”

Konstantinos Noussios (Deputy Governor of Karditsa Regional Unit): “Karditsa wears the good clothes, basketball wears its festive clothes. I invite everyone to come to the court next weekend and see all the basketball stars up close. I welcome all the athletes and I hope that the celebration of basketball will be forever etched in our memory”.

Vasilis Tsiakos (Mayor of Karditsa): “It is with great pleasure and honor that we welcome the 26th All Star Game in Karditsa. In Karditsa, which is affected by the disasters. Karditsa loves basketball and has proven it. Sport unites and we wish the injured police officer a speedy return to his family and his job. From the first moment that Yannis Bourousis informed us about the All Star Game, we responded, because we love basketball. I invite all the people of Karditsio to come to the stadium and say together “No to violence, sport unites”.

Yannis Bourousis (president of Karditsa JAPONIKI): “Instead of celebrating the arrival of the All Star Game in Karditsa, unfortunately we have an unpleasant event. I hope that the policeman will come back to us again and that we will all be healthy. Karditsa means a lot to me. This is where I took my first steps and from those present, coach Giannakis played a very important role in making me better as a player. If it wasn’t for this stadium, which Mr. Agorastos has a large share in its construction, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have the thirst to come, to fight and together with the rest of the children to create this beautiful project. Everything I have done, I have done with love for my city. It is a great honor to host the All Star Game but we need to send the message of what sports is all about. I am concerned about what is happening in sports. I personally thank those who helped, so that the stadium is better after the disaster, and especially the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr. Thodoris Livanos, who helped us a lot. If they said that the stadium will not have people it would be a big slap in the face for us. I thank the Prime Minister and I promise that whoever creates trouble in this stadium, I myself will kick him out of whatever team he comes from. We have 500 children in the academies and we want even more in the coming years. Thank you all and I wish you the best from now on.”

Panagiotis Giannakis (SEPK president): “We all feel especially because of the incidents and the injury of the policeman. Sports don’t teach that. I always wanted to have difficult opponents because I considered them the best coaches. It was an obligation to come here because this city has given us Giannis (s.s. Bourousis) and the other Giannis, Giannoulis. I would like to congratulate their coaches for discovering them. This weekend the residents of Karditsio should take their children and participate in the All Star Game activities. I will be happy to see the stadium full of children and this motivates the State to create stadiums. We will all be there waiting for the little ones to come and experience the joy of a child.

Konstantinos Alexandridis (PSAKK director): “Good evening from me as well. Due to commitments, our President Andreas Glyniadakis is not with us, but he will be at the 26th All Star Game next weekend and I am conveying his words to you. We are very happy that the All Star Game is back in the province. But even more joy gives us the fact that it will be held in Karditsa. It is not only that the city of Thessaly has invested in basketball in recent years, it is also that it received a strong blow, with wounds that will take time to heal.

We think that amidst the problems that people face here, they will get a little joy. There will be so many events, both inside and outside the playing field, and people will enjoy it. It will be a two-day celebration full of spectacle and beautiful performances.

We invite people to come and we promise that together we will write the most beautiful page in the history book of the All Star Game. And you also owe this to the people of Karditsa who have embraced this event from the first moment.

The parallel actions are on Saturday 16/12 and time 09.00-14.00 Tournament 3 on 3 for elementary-high school-high school children of Karditsa on the open courts of the Indoor Gymnasium. On Sunday 17/12 and time 09.00-11.00 Tournament 3on3 for the clubs of Karditsa. Also on Sunday 11.00-12.30 event in the Central Square of Karditsa with many contests and gifts.

Let us also inform you that we will visit the Theodoride Foundation “HORIZONTES”. We would like to sincerely thank the Region of Thessaly, the Municipality of Karditsa for their great help, the team of Karditsa JAPONIKI and especially Mr. Christos Deligiannis who stood by us from the first moment, even the offices of A’ and B’ education of the Prefecture of Karditsa and the ESKATH. We would also like to warmly thank all the staff of ESAKE and its President Mr. Galatsopoulos for the excellent cooperation.

Finally, we would like to thank the President of SEPC and world basketball legend Mr. Panagiotis Giannakis and the President of OSEKKA Mr. Christos Kaloudi. We are waiting for you all.”

Haris Papageorgiou (Esake Communication and Public Relations Officer): “On April 13, 1991, the first informal All Star Game took place and I thank Panagiotis Giannakis who participated then. A sports two-day is coming with many actions and many people have worked”.

Nikos Boutouris (representative of Veteran Basketball Players of Thessaly): “I’m glad to be among friends and these friendships have been made through basketball. We want to give by playing basketball and give the love we received by playing basketball. It is a pleasure to be here, next to Yannis Bourousis. The city has produced important players. It is the highest honor for Giannis for what he has offered. It is a prerequisite to have stadiums, so that children come and there is development. I hope there will be one in Volos and one of the next All Star Game will be held in Volos. Let’s not forget that in recent years we have had many athletes from Thessaly”.

Konstantinos Lambropoulos (Member of Karditsa Chamber of Commerce): “When we were asked by the living legend of basketball, Yiannis Bourousis and Christos Deligiannis to help for the All Star Game, we responded immediately after the disasters we had from the floods. Congratulations to ESAKE and PSAKK”.