Yao and Yi led Team China’s winning reunion

　　3 September 2007

　　SHENZHEN, China - After a 4-month withdrawal from the competition and becoming a married man, Yao Ming returned to the basketball court here in Southern China and reunited with his Team China teammates in a overpowering victory over the visiting Melbourne Tigers. The last time Yao represented China in international competition was in the World Championship last year.

　　Yao played 25 minutes in the game tonight, scoring 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, 7 of which defensive boards. He admitted after the game that he was not in his best shape, yet his sheer presence gave a big boost of confidence for Team China, which had lost their last 5 games against the European national teams in the last 2 weeks.

　　Yi Jianlian, who just confirmed his becoming an NBA player by signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, led all scorers with 19 points. He also had 10 rebounds to add to his overall performance, which was highly approved by the home crowd, including Yi’s family, which is from the Shenzhen area.

　　Wang Zhizhi missed the game suffering from diarrhea and fever. Wang Shipeng, Zhu Fangyu and Liu Wei joined Yao and Yi in the starting lineup. Wang, Zhu, and Li Nan, who came off the bench, each contributed 7 points.

　　The Tigers shot poorly for the night and was under 30% from the field. Team China won with a final score 69-56.

　　After the game, Yao Ming told reporters that he himself needed 2 to 3 weeks of systematic training to get back to good physical condition and his teammates also needed some rest to recover from the fatigue built up during the tough trip in Europe which ended only a week ago.

　　Team China and Melbourne Tigers will play their second game on Wednesday night in Macau.