Dubai: UAE Special Olympics basketball player Butti Al Sheezawi got to meet his hero Dikembe Mutombo and even scored four baskets at last weekend’s NBA All-Star event in Los Angeles.
The 31-year-old Emirati represented his country as part of a tie-up between the Special Olympics and NBA Cares, the league’s global social responsibility programme to promote Unified Sports — a sports-experience social inclusion initiative for people with determination.
Al Sheezawi took part in the NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game, which was part of the All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Centre.
“I think it’s a dream for every basketballer to be at and play at this event,” he said. “I learnt a lot from the players like Dikembe Mutombo. Everyone has so much talent and just to be beside them means a lot to me — I didn’t expect him to be so tall.
“Dikembe played in many positions throughout his career,” he added of the Congolese-American former Atlanta Hawks centre. “But he was known as one of the greatest shot blockers of all time.
- Butti Al Sheezawi » UAE Special Olympics basketball player
“I also play in this position and I managed to score four baskets (two jump shots, a three pointer and two pointer) in this event.
“I would like to say that it’s not easy to score in this kind of competition, with each shot the cheers of the crowd shook the floor, it really was an amazing atmosphere and for me it was one of the greatest experiences ever.
“It was amazing to represent my country, especially when I saw the UAE flag raised. This experience will contribute to the development of my skills and I return to the UAE with lots of knowledge to share with my teammates.
“I believe this will give us a great opportunity to prepare for the best results during the forthcoming IX Mena Games, and I am sure that we can raise the UAE flag high,” he added of next month’s event in Abu Dhabi from March 14-23, which acts as a precursor to the Special Olympic World Games in Abu Dhabi next year. “I’m training every day to be the best player I can be at that tournament.”
