SPORTS
24 | Tuesday, July 30, 2019 CHINA DAILY
CYCLING
Qinghai
race shows
it’s now the
wheel deal
By VIVIAN JI
Xinhua
YINCHUAN — On the week-
end that Egan Bernal became
Colombia’s first Tour de France
winner, the South American
country enjoyed another two-
wheeled triumph in scenic
northwest China.
After 14 days and 1,841 km of
grueling pedaling action that
spanned three provinces,
Colombian rider Robinson Cha-
lapud of the Medellin team won
the 18th Tour of Qinghai Lake on
Saturday in the city of Yinchuan,
Ningxia Hui autonomous
region.
Spain’s Oscar Sevilla, also of
Colombian outfit Medellin, was 1
minute, 44 seconds back in sec-
ond, with Australian Benjamin
Dyball third.
Liu Jiankun was the best-
placed Chinese rider in 25th.
The tour, which this year
attracted 22 teams, has steadily
grown in stature through the
years, with the route’s stunning
scenery and challenging terrain
proving a major draw for cyclists.
The race faced many challen-
ges in its infancy. In its inaugural
year in 2002, officials lacked
basic electronic timing equip-
ment, while in 2003 fears over
the SARS virus scared away
many teams.
However, a year later, Qinghai
local government was rewarded
for its hard work when the tour
was elevated to 2.3 status by
international cycling’s govern-
ing body, the UCI.
In 2007, the entry system
changed from invitation-based
to open application. In 2013, the
route expanded outside of Qing-
hai province, and for the first
time the tour crossed three prov-
inces and regions: Qinghai, Gan-
su and Ningxia.
Today the tour is among the
biggest events on the UCI’s cal-
endar, rivaling the three Grand
Tours — the Tour de France, Giro
d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana — in
terms of scale.
“Tours in Europe usually take
eight days, but the Tour of Qing-
hai Lake takes 14 days. That
makes it extra challenging, but
exactly why riders want to finish
the tour to prove themselves,”
said Tom Van Damme, president
of the UCI’s road commission
and professional cycling council.
“The Tour of Qinghai Lake
definitely plays an important
role in Asian UCI tours.
“In past years, we have had
winners from many different
countries, showing that the Tour
of Qinghai Lake is truly an inter-
national race.”
The tour is also an important
event in terms of promoting
local tourism.
The route centers around
Qinghai Lake, and extends to
many regions including agricul-
tural areas in Eastern Qinghai,
pastoral and desert terrain in
Western Qinghai, grasslands in
the Southern Qinghai Plateau,
Hexi Corridor in Gansu province
and the Gold River Bank in
Ningxia Hui autonomous
region.
For tourists, it’s a route that
combines incredible scenery,
rich local culture and fascinating
ethnic diversity.
Colombian rider Robinson
Chalapud of the Medellin
team celebrates winning the
Tour of Qinghai Lake in Yin-
chuan on Saturday.XINHUA
NBA and Tencent expand digital partnership
By CHINA DAILYThe National Basketball Associa-
tion and Tencent Holdings Limited,
the league’s exclusive official digital
partner in China, on Monday
announced a five-year expansion of
their existing partnership that will
see Tencent provide extensive NBA
coverage on its platforms through
the 2024-25 season.
Tencent, the NBA’s digital media
partner in China since 2009, has
streamed full seasons of live games
and content to its hundreds of mil-lions of daily users under the cur-
rent partnership, which began in
2015.
NBA-themed mobile games,
social media accounts and interac-
tive fan events are also included in
the package.
Last season, 490 million Chinese
fans watched NBA programming on
Tencent platforms, nearly tripling
the number for the 2014-15 season.
Tencent’s coverage of Game 6 of this
spring’s NBA Finals drew 21 million
viewers, marking the most-watched
NBA game ever on a digital platformin China.
Under the expanded partnership,
live games, video on-demand (VOD)
and short video content will be
available through Tencent’s digital
and social media platforms, includ-
ing QQ.com, Tencent Sports, Ten-
cent News, Tencent Video, QQ,
WeChat and Weishi.
Tencent will also collaborate with
the NBA to develop innovative
advertising products, and launch
and operate “mini programs” for
mobile devices, including NBA Qiu
Mi Quan (QMQ), the league’s fanloyalty program in China.
In addition, Tencent will leverage
its consumer insights to help the
NBA expand its domestic fanbase
and provide the league’s global fan-
base with new, customized interac-
tive services.
“Tencent’s commitment to NBA
basketball in China is unparalleled,”
said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
“The enormous reach and popu-
larity of Tencent’s platforms have
been a driving force behind the
growth of basketball in China, and
we look forward to deepening ourconnection with fans across the
country through this expanded
partnership.”
Tencent president Martin Lau
echoed that sentiment, adding: “We
believe the enhanced partnership
between the NBA and Tencent will
take our phenomenal success to
new heights. Empowered by our
technology capabilities, interactive
platforms and content expertise, we
will work closely with the NBA to
further engage fans in China with
sports excitement and technology
innovations.”BASKETBALLCBA Draft finally coming of age
By SUN XIAOCHEN in Shanghai
[email protected]From its embarrassing debut in
2015 to Monday’s highly anticipated
talent trawl, the Chinese Basketball
Association Draft has evolved into a
springboard for sending more
young hoopsters to the nation’s pro-
fessional ranks.
Initially ignored by most teams
for having little value in terms of
attracting talent, over the past few
years the CBA Draft has become a
high-profile stage for young players
to demonstrate their commitment
to the pro challenge.
The league’s effort to upgrade the
draft system is paying dividends,
highlighted by the record number of
16 players — including six from the
CUBA — selected by 10 teams at its
fifth edition in Shanghai on Mon-
day.
That’s in sharp contrast to its 2015
debut when just a single player was
picked — by the Chongqing Fly
Dragons (now Beijing Royal Fight-
ers).
The intense spotlight on this
year’s No 1 overall pick Wang Shao-
jie, selected by the Stephon Mar-
bury-coached Royal Fighters, was a
far cry from the cold shoulder given
to Fang Junlei, the lone selectee in
2015, who retired right after spend-
ing his entire rookie season on the
bench.
The different receptions given
Fang and Wang, both standouts in
the Chinese University Basketball
Association (CUBA), reflect the
association’s progress in building a
campus-to-pro talent pipeline to
mirror the NCAA’s contribution to
pro leagues in the United States.
Wang, who led Peking University
to the collegiate title in June and
was named MVP of the final, topped
the list of 23 college players partici-
pating in this year’s draft — an all-
time high.
That raises hopes the collegiate
system will play a bigger role in
complementing the State-run sys-
tem, which produced 25 draftees
this year.
“The CBA Draft is on its way to
opening the doors wider to all tal-
ented players, no matter where theycome from,” said Zhang Xiong, the
league’s president of basketball
operations.
“Our league is committed to offer-
ing opportunities to every player
who has a professional dream, and
the draft helps facilitate that.”
As part of the reform initiated by
CBA chairman Yao Ming in 2017,
this year’s draft featured a pre-selec-
tion training camp patterned after
the NBA’s Draft Combine.
Six days of physical tests, one-on-
one battles, team drills and scrim-
mages in front of general managers
and coaches helped them measure
the depth of the talent pool.
“It helps expose each of the draft-
ees’ physical and technical strengths
and weaknesses in an obvious way,
which makes it easier for teams to
identify and measure the players
they like,” Cui Wanjun, head coach
of Nanjing Monkey Kings, told Chi-
na Daily during the camp.“The challenge for players to pre-
vail in each of the tests has become
tougher while the competition lev-
els up. The camp offers a valuable
measurement of their survival chan-
ces in the pro league.”
To make a potential CBA career
more appealing to college grads, thereform has extended rookie con-
tracts from one to two years, at an
increased annual salary of 500,000
yuan ($72,690).
Another highlight of the reform
was inviting six grassroots players
coming off neither collegiate nor
pro backgrounds to attend the train-
ing camp. Although none were
selected, the effort to widen the path
to the pros is seen as a positive.
“Knowing I had little chance of
being drafted, I still gave it a try
because going pro is any baller’s
dream, no matter where you came
from,” said Zhou Rui, a 31-year-old
who has earned a reputation as one
of China’s best streetball players.
Over the weekend, this year’s
draftees lost all three exhibition
games against CBA Summer League
teams featuring players developed
by CBA clubs’ own youth systems.
“It will take time for the draftees
to sharpen their game to the levelneeded in the league, but the overall
talent coming through the draft has
improved a lot,” said Cui, who led
the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to the
league finals in 2014.
The improved competitiveness of
collegiate talent was showcased
during CBA All-Star Weekend in
January, when a CUBA select squad
led by Wang defeated a youth team
comprised of CBA reserves 90-88 in
the Rising Star Challenge.
Jiang Yuxing, selected by Jilin
Northeast Tigers as the top draft
pick in 2018, won Rookie of the Year
honors last season after averaging 8
points, 4.4 rebounds and 2 assists in
47 games.
“Sooner or later, I believe players
coming through the draft system
will supply most of the talent in the
league,” said Jiang, a 24-year-old
point guard drafted from the coun-
try’s second-tier National Basketball
League.Fifteen of the 16 players selected in Monday’s Chinese Basketball Association Draft in Shanghai pose with NBA star Jeremy Lin (front row,
white shirt) and CBA chairman Yao Ming (rear).PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILYRecord number of
collegiate players
picked in Shanghai
Our league is
committed to offering
opportunities to every
player who has a
professional dream,
and the draft helps
facilitate that.”Zhang Xiong,
CBA’s president of basketball
operationsTop pick Wang says he’s prepared to wait his turn
By SUN XIAOCHEN in ShanghaiAs the top overall pick in Mon-
day’s CBA Draft, college hoops star
Wang Shaojie has realistic ambi-
tions for his rookie season as a pro-
fessional.
Unlike in the NBA, where first-
round draft picks are under enor-
mous pressure to shine right away,
China’s top pro circuit should be
easier to navigate for Wang, who
was named MVP of the Chinese Uni-
versity Basketball Association
(CUBA) final this year.
“To start off the bench or even stay
there for the majority of my rookie
year is something that I expect and
something I’ve prepared for,” Wang
said after being selected by the Bei-
jing Royal Fighters on Monday.
With a grand ceremony patterned
after the NBA and presided over by
CBA chairman Yao Ming, the draft
was staged at a theater and was
attended by several celebrities, includ-
ing free agent Jeremy Lin, late of theNBA champion Toronto Raptors.
Wang, a versatile 6-foot-9 forward
with impressive mobility and shoot-
ing touch, was compared to six-time
NBA All-Star Anthony Davis of the
Los Angeles Lakers throughout his
collegiate career at Peking University.
“The intensity of the competition
and physical confrontation in the
CBA is a whole different level than
in college ball,” said the 23-year-old
Wang, who last month led PKU to
the CUBA national title over Tsing-
hua University, contributing 22
points and 16 rebounds in the final.
“I am fully aware of that, so I am
ready to work on every aspect of my
game and physical conditioning as
hard as I can to earn my minutes on
the court.”
Royal Fighters head coach Ste-
phon Marbury, a former NBA All-
Star, said earlier this month the
capital’s rebuilding franchise needs
a young pillar like Wang. Even
before his official appointment as
coach, Marbury watched the CUBAfinal and met with Wang.
Including Wang, six CUBA- devel-
oped players were drafted on Mon-
day, marking an all-time high since
the draft was launched in 2015. CBA
teams formerly relied heavily on
their own youth programs and local
sports schools within the State-run
system to draw new blood.
Yao, who was voted into the Nais-
mith Basketball Hall of Fame in
2016 and took over as boss of the
CBA in early 2017, said the league
will continue working with the Fed-
eration of University Sports of Chi-
na to make the draft a smoother
pathway to the pro ranks.
“Being drafted only draws a com-
ma in your career,” Yao said in his
opening speech. “How high you
reach in your future career won’t be
determined by the number you
were drafted today.
“Hopefully, we will see more play-
ers with a CUBA background make
their presence felt in the league in
the near future.”Wang Shaojie poses with CBA chairman Yao Ming after being
selected as top pick by the Beijing Royal Fighters in the 2019 CBA
Draft in Shanghai on Monday. The 23-year-old former Peking Uni-
versity star is a 6-foot-9 forward.PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY