China search for next Yao
Washington Wizard forward Yi Jianlian has emerged as China’s main man in the post-Yao Ming era, leading his country to a 15th Asian championship with a series of formidable performances.
But the 23-year-old is not the only player that has taken the opportunity to seize a slice of the spotlight after Houston Rocket Yao, a hero to hundreds of millions of basketball-mad Chinese, announced his retirement in July.
Besides anchoring Team China on both ends of the floor, Yi calmly knocked down the winning free throw with 28 seconds left in the Asian final on Sunday against Jordan, sending the passionate home town crowd in Wuhan into a frenzy.
