Wednesday, July 28, 2010

All eyes on Yao, Lin in charity basketball game

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) All eyes were on Chinese star center Yao Ming and Taiwan' s newest hero Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese-American player to join the U.S. National Basketball Association, as a charity game got underway Wednesday night in Taiwan.

The 48-minute game, organized by the Yao Foundation as a part of a charity tour in Taiwan, was played between two teams composed of active NBA players and players from China and Taiwan. All proceeds will be donated to local charities.

Hometown favorite Jeremy Lin, who signed a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors last week, drew a standing ovation when he took the court with 6:45 to go in the first quarter.

Lin was a late addition to the team, returning to Taiwan early Wednesday for a whirlwind two-day visit after he received a phone call from Yao.

With his parents and brothers watching on the sidelines, Lin shot a three-pointer late in the quarter but also committed a 24-second shot-clock violation, which showed that he still has to adjust to the professional game.

Yao Ming did not play in the game because he is still recovering from a foot injury. However, the 2.29-meter tall center was the reason the game took place.

The Yao Foundation, established in 2008, organized the charity tour during which Yao visited underprivileged children in southern Taiwan.

Team Love, which consisted of NBA players, matched up against Team Heart, which was made up of players from the Shanghai Sharks and an All-Star team in the local Super Basketball League. The Sharks played in the first and the final quarter, while the SBL All-Stars took the court in the remaining two quarters.

The NBA team, included active NBA players Lin, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, Hasheem Thabeet of the Memphis Grizzlies, DaJuan Summers of the Detroit Pistons, Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors, Luke Babbit of the Portland Trail Blazers and a pair of Yao's Houston teammates, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger.

They opened the game against the Sharks with a 23-5 run and quickly established a 20-point lead.

Taiwan's All-Star team was unable to contain the stronger taller U.S. visitors, who scored in runs on easy baskets, in their designated two periods.

Team Love beat Team Heart 137-103. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc