The Chinese Basketball Association yesterday unveiled the complete
team roster for the upcoming All-Star Game to be held in Shanghai
on March 18 when the 44th round of the regular season comes to an
end.
Themed "It's your turn -- you are the star," this year's
All-Star Weekend concentrates on the interaction between players
and spectators, promising not only an extravagant clash between
north and south divisions, but also a three-point shootout, slum
dunk competitions and a two-day carnival for fans.
Zhang Liangying, the Super Girls singing sensation who rocked
the country last year, and 100 dancers will also be doing their bit
to entertain the crowd.
According to the CBA, some 200,000 basketball fans voted for
their All-Star team, with former NBA center Mengke Bateer of the
Beijing Ducks topping the ballots with 132,291 votes, almost 30,000
more than the second favorite Zhu Fangyu of the Guangdong Southern
Tigers.
Also in the North Division starting line-up are forwards Jiao Jian,
Xue Yuyang and guards Zhang Yunsong and Lu Xiaoming. The line-up
for the South looks very much like the national team's: Guangdong's
center Yi Jianlian, and forwards Zhu Fangyu and Du Feng, Shanghai's
Liu Wei, point guard at this year's Australian NBL All-Star Game,
and Jiangsu's Hu Xuefeng.
The game will also see more rookies eager to prove their worth,
including Zhang Qingpeng from Liaoning, Jin Qingpeng from Xinjiang,
and Wang Shipeng from Guangdong.
Domestic players are increasingly popular with the league. None
of the international players made the starting line-up. The last
time this happened was in 1995, when the first CBA league was
launched with 12 teams.
Okosa Reggie of the Shanghai Sharks isn't too pleased about
this: "All my stats are pretty good, aren't they? Why didn't I make
it to the starters?"
Last weekend, Reggie blasted opponents with a game-high of 34
points and 16 rebounds. But this wasn't enough to stop the Yunnan
Bulls from stealing away a win by 111-97.
Four round games of the regular season remain. The Southern
Conference's Guangdong, Bayi, Jiangsu and Yunnan have secured their
postions in the playoffs while Beijing, Xinjiang, Liaoning and
Jilin in the North have eased into the next season.
All-Star starting line-up:
North:
Coach: Min Lulei
Forward: Jiao Jian (Beijing), Xue Yuyang (Xinjiang)
Center: Mengke Bateer (Beijing)
Guard: Lu Xiaoming (Xinjiang), Zhang Yunsong (Beijing)
South:
Coach: Li Chunjiang
Forward: Du Feng (Guangdong), Zhu Fangyu (Guangdong)
Center: Yi Jianlian (Guangdong)
Guard: Liu Wei (Shanghai), Hu Xuefeng (Jiangsu)
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, March 7, 2006)
