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NBA Europe Live Tour
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Remarks by DCM Anna Borg
"NBA Europe Live Tour"
NBA Cares Dedication of Basketball Court
Parco del Colle Oppio
Rome, October 6, 2006
Mayor Veltroni, Commissioner Stern, Rome-NBA Committee, distinguished guests and fellow Romans,
The U.S. Government would like to applaud the contribution to the community made today by the Phoenix Suns, Adidas and NBA CARES. The best of our corporations are also among our best citizens, and their concern for our communities goes beyond philanthropy. They are more than our benefactors. They are our neighbors. Theirs are the human faces of our economic system, that allow our children to perceive a future of mutual caring as well as competition.
For making the visit of the Phoenix Suns possible, thank you to the City of Rome, and to NBA Europe Live partners EA Sports, Champion, Adidas, Powerade, the City of Las Vegas, Game Stop, Spalding , Global Crossing, Trenitalia, Gruppo Poste Italiane, Corriere Dello Sport, Lotto, Sportitalia, and Diminsione Suono Roma.
Finally, thank you to the NBA. You have been teaching these lessons a long time. You were a global presence before we used the term. Long before Andrea Bargnani was born, Italian children not far from here – maybe right here – were dribbling basketballs embossed with the names of Bill Russell and Sandro Gamba, from whom they learned that sport at its best means reaching your potential.
Congratulations, Sandro Gamba, on becoming the third Italian to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame last month. When they play on this court, let’s hope the children of the future will have such role models. Thank you again.
