Zhao Rui named MVP as South beat North 167-166 to win CBA All-Star game

GUANGZHOU – Zhao Rui scored team-high 30 points as team South defeated North 167-166 after Hu Mingxuan’s last-minute layup in the 2019-20 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) All-Star game here on Sunday.

Yi Jianlian started the game with two three-pointers to the cheers of the local audiences. As two all-star starters from team Guangdong, Yi, and Zhao welcomed the North Team with a 9-0 streak before Zhai Xiaochuan scored the first two points for the North with a dunk.

The CBA league introduced a one-on-one game for the first time in this year’s all-star weekends. The South finished the first 12 minutes 41-29 before the first one-on-one game played by Jeremy Lin and Zhao Rui. The two players tied 9-9, which meant that they each contributed 18 points for themselves and their teams according to the rules.

The second quarter started with the South leading by 59-47. The guests put on a show of consecutive dunks to cut the deficit down to 84-89.

Hu Jinqiu and Han Dejun tied 8-8 in the centers’ one-on-one game, which meant that the North and South team each added 16 points after their 122-118 third quarter.

The last quarter was played in the playoff-style, Hu Mingxuan’s layup with 12.3 seconds left helped the South surpassed by 167-166 before they made a steal to secure the victory.

During the interval, Chen Linjian defended his title of Three-Point Shooting Contest while Chen Peidong defeating Wang Junjie to win the title of the Technics Challenge.

But the highlight of the night was the Dunk Contest. The game was special because the winner was Yi Jinhong, a wildcard grassroot player who enjoyed the reputation of “Yunnan Glider”.

Yi, who is only 1.78 meters, contributed three breath taking dunks in the two-round Dunk Contest final as he thought this was the only chance for him to play in the spotlight of a CBA stadium.

“Today I came here, standing for all the grassroots players,” he said with tears in his eyes. “I really hope I can inspire them with the spirit of never-give-up.”