Thursday night, CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano joined forces along with Roc Nation Sports to present the Summer Classic Charity Basketball Game at Barclays Center.
All proceeds from the event served to benefit Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation and Cano’s RC22 Foundation equally while aiming to increase opportunities for underserved youth in the areas of education, wellness and fitness – the night successfully raised $1,040,000. Team Sabathia took on Team Cano with a competitive celebrity match-up led by master of ceremony Angie Martinez. Sabathia and Cano had some help coaching on the sidelines from NBA and MLB pros including Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, JR Smith, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
Some stellar player performances included Chris Brown with 18 points (who was rarely seen without the ball in his hands running up and down the court) and Terrell Owens with 23. The real “star” of the game was DJ Khaled – fans chanted for his return to the court every time he was benched for an unfortunate play. Ultimately, Team Cano secured the win by 2 points. The 8,500 spectators included some familiar faces – Rihanna sat courtside alongside girlfriends Melissa Forde, Skylar Diggins and Cara Delevingne sipping on D’USSE cocktails throughout the entire game.
Ne-Yo, DJ Clue, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Future, Angela Simmons, Tiki Barber, Vinnie Guadagnino, Felix Hernandez, Drew Gooden, Charlie Villanueva, Rudy Gay, Dellin Betances, Damaris Lewis, Lenay Dunn, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola (Jersey Shore), Jay Williams, Stephen A. Smith, Adrienne Bailon, DeMar DeRozan and Nate “Tiny” Archibald were also spotted at the Barclays Center.
