Dunking | Diplomats
Sport the great unifier
Embassy Editor Elizabeth Stewart with Jana Cechlovska (Czech Embassy) and Kristiina Randmaa (European Commission)
Noeleen Alexopoulou of IDS hands over a cheque of £5000 to Shane Dorsett of Greenhouse Sports
Heads of mission supporting the Dunking Diplomats charity tournament from the USA, Lithuania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Cyprus with sponsors Sander Stockbroekx of Diplomatic Card (left), Patrick Doyle of IDS (right), Shane Dorsett of Greenhouse Sports and the Lord Mayor of Westminster Steve Summers
Austrian Ambassador Martin Eichtinger welcomes participants to his Residence and explains how the dream of Dunking Diplomats became a reality
USA II and their coach
European All-Stars, champions of the inaugural Dunking Diplomats tournament featuring Lithuania, Greece, Sweden, Serbia and Great Britain and their coach
Autrlian Ambassador Martin Eichtinger and Shane Dorsett of Greenhouse Sports hands out prizes to the winning team
Runners-up the Global Shooting Stars representing Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, with their coach and supporters the High Commissioner of Malawi Kena Mphonda and Cyprus High Commissioner Euripides Evriviades
Lord Mayor ofWestminster Steve Summers is a great supporter of Greenhouse Sports, a charity which helps inner city kids in London
The team atGreenhouse Sports
The Maple Jordans (MJs) from Canada with their coach
USA I and their coach
The Global All-Stars, featuring Mongolia, Philippines and the USA and their coach
Austrian Ambassador Martin Eichtinger with BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale
The Embassy Magazine man of the match Dusan Neskovic
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Dunking Diplomats
Around 50 members of the London diplomatic community, including three ambassadors, representing a dozen nations, swapped their suits for basketball vests to fight it out for the glory of being the inaugural Dunking Diplomats Champions of 2017.
In a tense final it was European strength in unity that prevailed and the European All-Stars grasped the narrowest of victories from the Global Shooting Stars.
And the blood sweat and tears was for a good cause as more than £10000 was raised in aid of Greenhouse Sports, a charity that uses sport to help London’s inner city kids, some of whom participated in the tournament as coaches, mentors and referees.
All participants gathered on the court for one big family photo, showing positive power of sport. The Dunking Diplomats will be back next year so start shooting those hoops!
PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS