IN BRIEF (Page 22)
Basketball
Grassroots event held for young hoop talents
Nike organized a grassroots tournament for Beijing basketball talents under 19 over the weekend in the hope of finding the next Chen Jianghua, a current national team player who was discovered in this type of tournament.
The tournament ended on Sunday with a championship game held at the Forbidden City. It has attracted over 5,300 players and 1,340 teams around the city to battle for the crown. Tournament organizers also invited Chen as the special guest and the judge for the slam dunk competition.
Chen, himself a member of the champion team of the Nike Battle Ground, a national 3-on-3 amateur basketball tournament held in Guangzhou in 2001, said watching the weekend's tournament reminded of old times.
"Although I have won a championship in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament before, tonight's games made me want to try again."
Boat racing
French driver powers to best ever result
Veteran French driver Philippe Dessertenne of CTIC China Team finished fifth and scored seven points at the opening round of the 2007 U.I.M. F1 World Championship, the best ever result and the first points the team has won since joining the prestigious boat race last year.
Dessertenne's teammate Peng Linwu, China's best driver in the sport, was placed 13th.
World Champion Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team held off the challenge of Italian Guido Cappellini and American Jay Price to win the opening round in front of tens of thousands of race fans along the 1.66 kilometer course on the Arade River on Portugal's Algarve Coast.
The 4-time World Title holder led from the start and never looked back while feeling the pressure from Cappellini who dogged him for the full 60 laps.
China will host two stages of 2007 season world championships, in Chengdu in September and in Shenzhen in October.
Having been involved in the sport for 17 years, Philippe was appointed driver and also head coach of the team early this year.
(China Daily 05/15/2007 page22)
