The team-shirt was presented to the founders of the Gibraltar Basket Ball Academy Mr Albert Tellez and Mr Jason McMahon, (who is also a Gibtelecom employee) by Bojan Dremelj, President of Telekom Slovenije, which holds a 50% shareholding in Gibtelecom. Telekom Slovenije is one of the leading sponsors of the Union Olimpija basketball team.
At the presentation Bojan Dremelj, commented ‘as a sports enthusiast myself it is very encouraging to see the initiation of a Basketball Academy which will promote the sport at a junior level. It is equally encouraging to learn that Gibtelecom is sponsoring this project. I have been told that within Gibtelecom there are a number of basketball players, one of whom is Caroline Robba who was Captain of the Gibraltar Female National Team from 1995 to 2000.
Union Olimpija was founded in 1946. Throughout its history the club has produced outstanding players, many of whom have participated in various Olympic Games, World and European Championships - as many as twelve of Union Olimpija’s players have won medals at these events. The club has been twelve times National Champions, twelve times Cup Champions, European Cup Champions in 1994, and in third place in 1997. The team has also qualified twice amongst the top eight teams in Europe and twice been amongst the top sixteen clubs in Europe. At the 2007/2008 season the club won both the Slovenian National Cup and the Slovenian National League.
The Gibraltar Basketball Academy has been set up by Fédération Internationale de Basketball Europe Coaching Certificate coaches Jason McMahon and Albert Tellez under the auspices of the Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association. The Academy is located in the Garrison Gymnasium at Europa Road, and has been refurbished to offer a state-of-the-art sports complex tailored for the development of youth basketball in Gibraltar. The Academy currently has over 100 members in the following groups: Micro Basketball (7-8 year olds); Pre-Mini Basket Ball (9-10 year olds); Mini Basket (11-12 year olds); and Passerelle (13–14 year olds).
At the reception, President of the Gibraltar Basketball Association, Mr John Goncalves, thanked Gibtelecom for organising the donation of the basketball team-shirt and for its donation to the Academy; and he also extended his thanks to Telekom Slovenije for arranging the donation of the basketball team-shirt, which has been signed by all the players.
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E-mail: info@gibsport.gi