Li Ke scored a game-high 33 points to help China win its first basketball warm-up match, humiliating the visiting American Star team 84-83 in Qinhuangdao city, Hebei Province, Northeast China on Thursday evening.

The hosts, without slightly-injured 2002 NBA No. 1 pick Yao Ming, led the first quarter 27-22 and enjoyed a 46-43 lead at halfbreak.

In the third quarter, China stage a 20-8 run to dominate the game before the Americans hit back for a 17-9 drive to narrow the gap to five points.

The American Star team, consists of former NBA players and other professionals, still had its chance to win the game in the last five seconds with one point behind.

After the visitors missed their last easy shot, China, who also missed key players of another NBA player Menk Bateer and Xue Yuyang, won the game to the cheers of local fans at the stadium.

The Sino-US match was the first of a series of warm-ups for China to prepare for the Asian Basketball Championships to be held in September in Harbin, North China.

(People's Daily   July 24, 2003)