Catch a chance!

Before the game vs Spartak Primorye CSKA hosted the Euroleague One Team event.

This time the club invited the kids from Moscow Orphanage N24. The delegation was greeted by the One Team Ambassadors, Olympic Champion Sergey Tarakanov and CSKA captain Victor Khryapa. The event looked unofficial – it was just a friendly meeting of different generations.

Orphanage N24 pays big attention to the physical culture: the kids are going in for football and basketball, they practice 3 times a week. The boys came to CSKA to meet living legends, famous champions.

First of all the visitors wanted to know about the most difficult victories in the sports careers. Sergey Tarakanov said that the USSR gold in Munich 72 Olympics and especially the famous assist by Ivan Edeshko triggered his interest to basketball. He compared basketball of 80s and 2000s, shared his memories about Team USSR, army club. The visitors surprised Tarakanov by saying that some of them can score 5 three-pointers in a row.

The Olympic champion also brought his medals: he demonstrated the awards from '88 Olympics, '85 Eurobasket, '79 Eurobasket and the most valuable medal for Tarakanov – 2007 Eurobasket gold won by him as a National Team GM. The kids studied each medal and asked to tell the stories about each one.

Khryapa joined the event after his individual practice. He told mostly about 2012 Olympics, his emotions and importance of bronze medal finish. Victor wished the kids to find themselves in the life, to be involved in something they really like to do, no matter what – sports, maths or drawing. “The most important thing is to work hard, and the result will come”, Khryapa concluded. “You should know it right now: every person has his chance in a life. Nobody is the outsider by birth, everything depends on you. You should look for your moment. And I wish you to catch your chance!” Tarakanov added.

During the halftime break the kids also took the floor to participate in the basketball contests and they received gifts from CSKA.