A star in the making

Youngster shines in front of NBA stars at Yao's charity event

Lu Kuan felt like a superstar on campus during the first day of the new semester. The sixth grader at a primary school in suburban Jinan, Shandong province, was surrounded by schoolmates who had watched the broadcast of Sunday's charity basketball game in which the 12-year-old boy played with NBA champion Tony Parker in a top-class arena in Dongguan, Guangdong province.

"Tony Parker passed a ball to me and said 'nice shot!' to me," Lu said of his encounter with the San Antonio Spurs' star guard.