Pellicani Basketball on the Court Combatting Violence Against Women
A CHARITY MATCH WILL BE HELD WITH THE BOCCONI TEAM PLAYING POLITECNICO ON 3 JUNE AT THE REGION OF LOMBARDY BUILDING. IT'S PART OF A DAYLONG INITIATIVE WITH EVENTS SUPPORTING THE LA META' DI NIENTE ASSOCIATION, WHICH HELPS WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF ABUSEFour days (2-5 June) dedicated to basketball in the prestigious and beautiful setting of Piazza Città della Lombardia, in Milan. The square is inside Palazzo Lombardia, and it will host the teams playing in the Lombardy regional finals for youth basketball. But the Bocconi University’s men’s basketball team will also play a leading role over the weekend. After recently finishing the Serie C Silver playoffs, the team will face off against the Serie D players from Politecnico di Milano, on Friday 3 June at 6pm. The game will be played as part of a charity event called “In Lunetta per la Libertà.” This event has been organized by the US Consulate in Milan, in collaboration with the Lombardy Regional Committee of the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP), with the sponsorship of CONI, Olimpia Milano and in support of the association La Metà di Niente, which helps women who have been victims of abuse.
“There will be a series of events starting in the morning,” says Carlo Favero, Pellicani coach and Head of the Department of Finance, “with the participation of Italian and US players who will face off in a match and with a performance by the Olimpia Milano youth club. The last event on the program is the game between our team and Politecnico.” The Bocconi team’s participation in the event, which will also be attended by Dan Peterson, is due to initiative of the coach/professor. He explains, “When I found out about the event, I called Alberto Bellondi, organizer of the event, asking him to add a match between university teams and he accepted enthusiastically.”
The Bocconi team is already looking ahead to next season, when they will try to accomplish the move up in the league that they missed by a hair this year. The entire team will be there, with a few additions: “We’re going to test some new first-year players who are starting university in the fall,” says Favero, “to see if they’re ready to bolster our roster. What better opportunity?”
by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Jenna Walker