A basketball match featuring Chinese star players, business executives and celebrities kick-started the second day of the Greater Bay Area International Sports Business Summit in Macau on Saturday.
Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, and Taiwanese singer Will Liu were joined by former champion players from the China Basketball Association, in Zhu Fangyu, Meng Duo and Li Qun.
They made up the Galaxy team, who beat a side of Macau Basketball League players 128-106.
Tsai, chairman of Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post, scored several baskets and made some interceptions while wearing the 19 jersey – also his number as a lacrosse player. His son and daughter play lacrosse for the Hong Kong national teams, with each wearing No 19.
Representing the Macau league were the likes of Lai Ka-tong, Lo Hip-meng and Chan Wai-seng.
Despite losing the lighthearted game, the team of Macau pros gave glimpses of their capability as they spent the majority of the game scoring from long distance, passing with speed and showing their athleticism.
Li stood out on the Galaxy team, cutting through the opposing defence on multiple occasions with a swift drop of the shoulder to create space and set up several lay-ups.
Themed “connecting the world through sports” and supported by the Sports Bureau of the Macau government and the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, the summit brought together more than 300 influential decision-makers from the sports business community to network and chart the future course of the industry in the city.
