Slicing pizza and slicing the lane are two different things done mostly by different people. For Palermo's employees and Bucks players, however, the two become one on Monday, November 9th.
The Bucks held their annual Business of Basketball event at Palermo's Villa in Milwaukee, where fun and learning went hand in hand for the afternoon. The entire team was on hand to learn about the business side of their sport, including the role of valuable partners like Palermo's. They also got to learn first hand how the local family owned pizza company operates day to day.
The players were divided into three teams and tasked to create their own product, packaging and marketing pitch. The team with the best product and presentation as determined by the distiguished judges (Bucks President Peter Feigin, Bucks GM John Hammond and Palermo's CEO Giacomo Fallucca) earned bragging rights and a spot on the Palermo's Courtside Club Menu for their pizza creation.
The guys caught on quickly, but naturally things got competitive.
"We're gonna win this," said Greg Monroe with a look of determination usually reserved for late minutes of an NBA game.
In the end, however, the fun far outweighed the competitive fire.
"It was a great opportunity to connect with the players and share with them the importance of sound business practices that transcend the game of basketball," said Giacomo Fallucca, CEO of Palermo's. "The guys were excited to be here and we enjoyed hosting them. It was great to see them having such a good time in our kitchen."
In the end, Greg was right. His team did win the title. Congrats Team 3. The Palermo's Championship Belt is yours.