On the evening of August 20, the 2024 12th Yao Foundation Charity Competition officially concluded at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The Chinese basketball star team and the international basketball star team jointly presented a wonderful game to the audience, fully conveying the concept of "supporting Hong Kong with sports people and love" to Hong Kong and even the entire Greater Bay Area. It is worth mentioning that this is also the second time that the Yao Foundation Charity Competition has been held in Hong Kong.
The lineup for this game is luxurious: 10-time All-Star and 75th NBA superstar James Harden, 9-time NBA All-Star Paul George, 6-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler and Kyle Kuzma and other powerful players gathered in Hong Kong and formed an international star team with four players, Joseph Young, Jaylen Lechu, Trey Mitchell, and Josh Rivers. CBA Liaoning Ben Ugo, the coach of the Steel Team, was specially invited to serve as the head coach of the International Basketball Star Team, directing the International Team led by the four major NBA stars to compete with his own players. Guangdong Hongyuan Club head coach Du Feng was specially invited to serve as the coach of the Chinese Star Team, commanding the team with the most players in Liaoning. Guo Ailun, Han Dejun, Li Xiaoxu, Cong Mingchen, Liu Yanyu, Yan Shouqi and six Liaoning men's basketball championship team players and Zhou Five strong players, Peng, Yuan Shuai, Fang Shuo, Ren Junfei and Du Bochao, joined forces to play.
Zhuo Yingxing, Deputy Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and Ng Shou-kee, Chairman of the Major Sports Events Committee, kicked off the game. Players from the two teams joined hands to provide a climax to the game for the fans. The International Basketball Stars team started with their strongest lineup to challenge. Both teams launched an all-out attack and defense from the start. Jimmy Butler assisted Kyle Kuzma to kick off the exciting game. Alley-oops were performed frequently, super long three-pointers stunned everyone, and steals also caused frequent exclamations from the scene. In the second quarter, the international basketball star team even resorted to a full-court man-to-man defense. The intensity of the confrontation was amazing, and for a time people forgot that this was a charity game. In the packed stadium, the stars of both teams gave their best, and the first half ended with the International Basketball Stars taking a big lead.
During the break of , boxing Olympic champion Zou Shiming, national fitness coach Liu Genghong, Beijing Shougang Basketball Club executive deputy general manager Zhang Yunsong and CBA Guangdong Hongyuan Club general manager Zhu Fangyu took the stage to interact, and the four of them performed boxing and aerobics Imitation of basketball moves, when Zhu Fangyu made boxing moves, thunderous applause and laughter erupted from the scene.
Just like the traditional "Dream Third Quarter" of the Yao Foundation Charity Game, 12 outstanding young players selected by the Yao Foundation's Hope Primary School Basketball Season Project and 15 youth teams from Hong Kong and Macau used football to make friends and sports people. Guo Ailun, Zhou Peng, Joseph Young, Jimmy Butler and James Harden also took the initiative to join the teams of both teams and fight side by side with the young players. The Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Season is a sports charity project jointly launched by the Yao Foundation, the China Youth Development Foundation and the Chinese Basketball Association in 2012. This year’s Hope Primary School basketball season players come from six provinces and have gone through county-level competitions. They are selected from various levels of competitions, provincial competitions and national competitions.
When the game entered the fourth quarter, an unexpected scene happened. Butler and Kuzma swapped teams with Zhou Peng and Fang Shuo, and the international basketball star team exchanged players with the Chinese basketball star team. Their cross-border cooperation allowed people to truly see the charm of sports without borders. At this moment, the exchange of basketball between China and the United States is no longer an abstract concept, but is embodied in the tacit cooperation, friendly interaction and teamwork of the players on the court. The game continued in the last quarter, with many fancy dunks and long-distance three-pointers causing the fans in the audience to scream. In the end, the international basketball star team won the game with 128 to 104 points.
Caption: Butler and Kuzma put on Chinese jerseys
In this game, fans witnessed the basketball legacy of Zhou Peng, a player who participated in the first year of the 2007 Yao Foundation Charity Game, holding his son on the field, and witnessed Guo Ailun's first time in a few years. The vitality of returning to the court in January, the surprise of James Harden arriving before the extreme transition game, the admiration of Paul George and Kyle Kuzma’s top basketball skills in aerial succession, dunks and three-pointers, and more What is important is to support China's rural youth to create a healthier and better tomorrow with the help of charity events.
In addition to the main game of this Yao Foundation Charity Game, in order to spread the basketball culture and stimulate the basketball enthusiasm of primary school students in Hong Kong, the Yao Foundation Charity Game held school visits. Wan Xuejun, Secretary-General of the China Youth Development Foundation, and Yao Foundation Founder Yao Ming, Chairman Ye Li, Vice Chairman Lu Hao, as well as Chinese and foreign player representatives and coaches visited Taikoo Primary School in Hong Kong and launched a lively basketball training and teaching competition with the school’s basketball-loving students.
In order to give back to the fans and local citizens of Hong Kong, a basketball carnival was also held, and invited players from the Liaison Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Hong Kong Police Basketball Team, the Hong Kong Customs Basketball Team, the Yao Foundation and local Hong Kong players to form the "Bauhinia Team" and The "Xiangjiang Team" held a 5v5 exhibition match on site. Players such as Paul George, Kyle Kuzma, the original coach and Liu Yanyu came on stage to help out. Jimmy Butler also appeared on the stage to engage in lively and interesting shooting interactions with fans.
In addition, on the evening of August 19, the 12th Yao Foundation Charity Tournament Charity Dinner, a retained event for the 17 years of the event, was held at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. Two hundred people with lofty ideals from Hong Kong and the Mainland who were passionate about charity and sports met with Chinese and foreign Basketball stars gathered together to raise funds for this competition through the auction of artworks and collectibles.
As the competition whistle sounded, the 12th Yao Foundation Charity Competition in 2024 officially came to a successful conclusion, but the Yao Foundation’s charity work will never stop. The Yao Foundation will continue to uphold the mission of "people through sports" and is committed to promoting the development of rural sports education in China so that more children can enjoy the joy and benefits of sports. I believe that in the future, with the joint efforts of the Yao Foundation and all sectors of society, more and more rural teenagers will thrive in the company of sports, chase their dreams, enjoy physical exercise, strengthen their physique, improve their personality, and exercise Will to achieve a better future!
This charity match is sponsored by the Beijing Yao Foundation and the China Youth Development Foundation. It is jointly sponsored by the Chinese Basketball Association, the Ministry of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Strong support, the event is co-sponsored by Big Color Sports Culture, and the co-organizers are CCTV Sports and Zhonghui Sports.
(Xinmin Evening News reporter Li Yuanchun)
