THE REST of the World team continued their dominance over their European counterparts at the FIBA Europe All Star Game on Thursday night at Nicosia’s Eleftheria Stadium. Just as in last year’s game played in Kiev, it was a closely fought affair with the Rest of The World winning 106-102.
George Chrysostomou, President of the Cyprus Basketball Federation, described the game as “probably the most important sporting event to ever take place in Cyprus. Such events promote our small island abroad, especially with the participation of top European players from 14 different countries.”
Players were selected via a fan vote on fibaeurope.com. Ten players per side were selected by the fans and the remaining two places were awarded on a wildcard basis by FIBA Europe.
The event is a celebration of the FIBA Europe League and of basketball. For the fans, it’s a chance to see the best players in the competition and for the players, it’s recognition of their status as among the best in Europe.
All Star Day fuses basketball and entertainment and is an opportunity to promote the sport and create fans in more countries.
The evening began with a spectacular opening ceremony featuring drummers and bouzouki players who performed during the opening ceremony of last summer’s Olympic Games. There was also a stunning gymnastics performance by a rope acrobat, with dancers and cheerleaders entertaining the 6000 capacity crowd to the tunes of syrtaki music.
The two teams were then announced, before Elena Paparizou wowed the audience with a performance of “My Number One”, which is Greece’s entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Once the main game got underway, the Rest of the World side raced into a 34-27 lead. Before the second quarter got underway, a three-point competition took place, which saw each player attempt 25 shots from outside the three-point arc, in one minute.
Argentina’s Marcelo Nicola was on fire, taking the spoils with 24 points out of 30.
The half-time show featured an exhibition of gravity-defying slam dunks by French group, Slam Nation. Accompanied by a hip-hop soundtrack, the show left the crowd gasping at their athleticism and skills. Founded in 1997, the seven-member group have performed in more than 250 exhibitions worldwide, including NBA games, and have been voted ‘best top-level basketball event’ by French television, ahead of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters.
After the crowd got their breath back, the game resumed with the Rest of The World leading 65-59. They stretched their lead to 15 points, before Europe cut the deficit to one, with two minutes remaining.
The European effort was all in vain, though, as America’s Shammond Williams produced an MVP (most valuable player) performance, the guard having a say in the Rest of the World’s final 11 points of the game.
“We did a great job as a team and we really gelled,” Williams told the Cyprus Mail. “It doesn’t matter who is the MVP or how many points anybody scores. We came here to win and that’s what we did.”
Williams, who plays his club basketball with UNICS Kazan in Russia, finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
The night was rounded off with a live concert by Constantinos Christoforou, who performed ‘Ela Ela,’ Cyprus’ entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, as well as other songs from his latest album.
