【Tactics and Tactics】
Sports carry the dream of national prosperity and national rejuvenation. Adhere to the integrated promotion of competitive sports and mass sports, and the construction of a sports power will inevitably reach a new level. As a strong sports province, Guangdong’s competitive sports and mass sports are at the forefront of the country, and it has been striving for the construction and development of a strong sports country. In this hot land of southern Guangdong, many cities have their own signature sports, sports towns and sports cities are everywhere, and many of them are well-known in China and abroad. This series of planning carefully selects six representative sports events in six cities for readers, focusing on the sports achievements and sports spirit of Nanyue, with a view to helping the people of Guangdong and Guangdong sports “advance a new journey and make contributions to a new era”. Drum and whistle.
There are basketball courts in every village and basketball halls in towns and towns. People here love basketball, understand basketball, and watch basketball.
Dongguan: a city crazy about basketball
Planning: Tao Yong
Coordination: Lin Benjian
Written by: Hao Haoyu, All Media Reporter of Yangcheng Evening News
People who are familiar with basketball usually hear this sentence: Chinese basketball sees Guangdong, Guangdong basketball sees Dongguan. This southern city has gone out of the CBA “Eleven Crown Champion” Guangdong Hongyuan such a king’s teacher, and trained a large number of basketball stars such as Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie and so on. The brilliant achievements of the Guangdong team in the professional arena are like the bright pearl in the crown, and all of this is inseparable from the strong basketball atmosphere and solid basketball soil in Dongguan.
On the 2,460 square kilometers of Dongguan, there are more than 6,600 basketball courts. “There are basketball courts in every village, and basketball courts in towns and towns” is by no means a lie. People often joke that there are no Dongguan people who can’t play basketball. People here love and understand basketball, and basketball culture has become an inseparable part of Dongguan’s urban culture. The mass support from villages and towns makes professional basketball in Dongguan prosperous, and the prosperous ball market in turn drives the development of mass basketball. From the Dongguan Basketball Center, the home of the Guangdong team, to the village and town courts in Changping, Humen, and Macong, whether it is a professional arena or a private arena, the masses of Dongguan are enjoying the happiness brought by basketball. This is a city crazy about basketball.
Playing basketball for a few hours after school is a common memory of a generation
In 2004, Dongguan was named a national basketball city by the State Sports General Administration. For nearly a hundred years, basketball has been the favorite sport of Dongguan people. According to Fang Weimin, the former deputy director of the Dongguan Sports Bureau, the current vice president of the Guangdong Basketball Association, and the honorary president of the Dongguan Basketball Association, the development of basketball in Dongguan has a history of more than a hundred years. “Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, our Changping team went out to play games and came back with a ranking,” Fang Weimin said. “After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Dongguan government has always attached great importance to the development of basketball. Basketball has a very long history in Dongguan. history.”
Fang Weimin, who is over seventy years old, is still in good spirits. He has been dealing with basketball for almost his entire life, and now he is still shining in the position of honorary president of Dongguan Basketball Association. When the old basketball player mentioned the story of Dongguan basketball, he was still incessant. In Fang Weimin’s memory, Dongguan’s basketball atmosphere has always been very good: “In the 1950s and 1960s, almost every village in Dongguan had a basketball court, but the conditions were very simple, two iron frames, one wooden board, such a basketball court. Even if the field is ready.”
Although the conditions are mediocre, these country courts have given more people the opportunity to get in touch with basketball, and children will go straight to the basketball court to play after school. According to Fang Weimin, at that time, most of the children would go to the basketball court after school and go home for dinner after playing at seven or eight in the evening. This has almost become a common memory of students in Dongguan at that time. The people of Dongguan are even more enthusiastic about basketball games. Fang Weimin recalled: “A folk basketball game can attract the surrounding people to sit in a big truck to watch. The whole court is full of people, and some people even climb trees and roofs… To find the best spot to watch the ball.”
This fiery basketball atmosphere continues to this day. Today, in Dongguan, almost every village has two or more basketball courts, and in urban residential areas, outdoor courts have almost become standard. Walking in the streets and alleys of Dongguan, you can see young people wearing sneakers, carrying bags and holding basketballs everywhere. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, folk events in villages and towns have become a stage for basketball fans to show themselves. What could be more enjoyable than playing a hearty basketball game with relatives and friends at the door of the house under the witness of the fathers and the villagers? With the support of the masses and the guidance of the government, the rapid development of basketball in Dongguan came naturally.
The city league has not been interrupted for 20 years, and the first competition attracted all 33 towns to participate
Looking at the whole country, there are many basketball cities with mass bases, but why is Dongguan the only one that has developed so prosperously? In Fang Weimin’s view, this is inseparable from the big and small competitions in Dongguan. “I have always believed that basketball players need to grow in the game, and Dongguan’s various competitions from big to small have given these players a stage to grow.” Fang Weimin said.
The historical achievements of Dongguan basketball have always been good. After the reform and opening up, it started from the first national “Harvest Cup” championship won by the Dongguan Changping Farmers’ Basketball Team in 1984. In 1993, Dongguan Hongyuan Group Co., Ltd. registered the first professional basketball club in the country. ——With the Guangdong Hongyuan Basketball Club as the symbol, Dongguan basketball has entered a new stage of development.
These are the achievements of Dongguan basketball in the professional field, and what really makes basketball an inseparable part of Dongguan people’s life are those games sponsored by officials or spontaneously organized by the people. Talking about the basketball competitions in Dongguan, Fang Weimin is very familiar: “Our current competitions include Dongguan Basketball League, Civil Service League, University League, Middle School League, etc. These competitions can be said to cover the whole of Dongguan, and every player has his own way. stage.”
Among them, the Dongguan Basketball League, which originated in 2003, has been held for 20 consecutive sessions, and none of them has been interrupted. This is enough to show the Dongguan government’s support for this game and the Dongguan people’s love for this game.
Talking about this competition, Fang Weimin still remembers it vividly: “We were very bold at the beginning of the establishment. In the first competition, we required all 33 towns (streets) to participate, and there must be men and women, which is still very difficult. “Fang Weimin recalled: “At that time, some towns did not have strong desire to participate due to economic pressure, but after our persuasion, all towns and streets finally participated in the competition.” Speaking of this, Fang Weimin was very proud: “The first session The game was very successful, although everyone’s level was high and low, but everyone felt the enthusiasm of Dongguan people for basketball, and the attention of the game has been very high since then.”
In 2015, the Dongguan Basketball Association further subdivided the competition regulations of the Dongguan Basketball League. According to the suggestions of each team, the Municipal Basketball Association has implemented an athlete registration system to manage the registration of all amateur athletes. According to Fang Weimin, due to the increasing attention of the league, many towns and streets paid high prices to “poach” players from other teams to play in their own team, and the lineup of each team was not stable enough. If a player wants to “transfer” to another team, he must obtain the consent of the original team, which greatly strengthens the stability of the team.
In addition, the Dongguan Basketball Association also stipulates that players over the age of 18 are required to pay social security in Dongguan for three years, while players under the age of 18 have no social security requirements. This is actually to encourage teams to cultivate young players and let everyone tap talents. rather than high-priced buyers. In the construction of the referee team, the Dongguan Basketball Association has established a referee committee and held study classes to improve the referee level.
Due to the high attention of the city league, all participating towns and streets attach great importance to the training of players, and their training paths are roughly divided into two types: one is to introduce excellent players, and the other is to organize town and street leagues to select Good seedlings to participate in the city league. Fang Weimin said that almost every town and street has its own league. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, there are countless ball games throughout the year, which has cultivated many grassroots basketball talents in Dongguan. According to incomplete statistics, Dongguan has nearly 1,000 basketball games hosted by various towns and streets in one year, and even more numerous if the games hosted by villages are added. These games have given Dongguan players a good amount of exercise, and they have also moved to a higher level of competition.
The grassroots player who came out of Dongguan Mayong became the Asian champion
Xiao Hailiang, Huang Wenwei and Zeng Bingqiang are the grassroots stars who came out of the Dongguan competition. In 2018, they represented the Chinese men’s three-player basketball team and won the gold medal in the men’s three-player basketball event at the Asian Games in Jakarta, from amateur players to Asian champions. This experience seems unbelievable, but it is a real reality.
Among the three, Xiao Hailiang was born and raised in Humen, Dongguan, while Huang Wenwei and Zeng Bingqiang came to Dongguan when they were young and were influenced by Dongguan’s basketball atmosphere. In 2017, the three won the national championship on behalf of the Dongguan Mayong team, thus qualifying to represent the Chinese team in the Jakarta Asian Games.
According to Xiao Hailiang, his father was a canoeist, and he was very interested in various sports, especially basketball, since he was a child. “My father also liked playing basketball very much at that time. His unit had a basketball court. I played with him every day, and I fell in love with the sport,” Xiao Hailiang said. “The Dongguan City League also left a deep impression on me. The impression that every game is almost full, and the audience is very enthusiastic, it is really a very shocking thing. I watched those star players grow up, so naturally I also hope to become that kind of person.”
In Xiao Hailiang’s view, it was because they played so many games in Dongguan that they were able to defeat the players from all over the country in the national competition and stood on the stage of the Asian Games. “I, Awei (Huang Wenwei), and Xiaoqiang (Zeng Bingqiang) all grew up in the Dongguan City League and the Guangdong Provincial League. In fact, we don’t have an advantage in height and weight, but we cooperate tacitly, and there are Guangdong basketball players who are quick and quick. Features.” According to Xiao Hailiang, many teams had professional players participating in the national competition at that time, but as amateur players, they did not shy away from the battle, and finally defeated their opponents and came to the end.
But when Xiao Hailiang and his teammates really qualified for the Asian Games, they really felt the pressure. “At the time, I felt both honored and pressured, because we no longer only represented Mayong, Dongguan, and Guangdong, but played on behalf of China, so we all wanted to do our best.” Xiao Hailiang said. In order to simulate the hot climate in Jakarta, they deliberately chose to train in Guangzhou at noon in summer, and everyone was tanned. Not only that, the whole team also went to Serbia for training. Although the opponents were strong, in Xiao Hailiang’s words, they were “abused badly”, but after confronting high-level opponents, the team’s improvement was quite obvious.
The efforts of Xiao Hailiang and his teammates were not in vain. In the end, they defeated strong enemies such as Iran and South Korea in the knockout stage and stood on the top of Asia. Looking back on that moment now, Xiao Hailiang still feels incredible: “After all, we were at a disadvantage in many aspects, but fortunately we persevered.” Today, the background photo of Xiao Hailiang’s WeChat is the gold medal he won in Jakarta, this native Dongguan boy Accepting the training of Dongguan basketball, and repaying Dongguan basketball with his excellent performance.
In Xiao Hailiang’s view, the teenagers who play in Dongguan are very lucky, because Dongguan has built a fairly complete competition system, providing them with a good platform. “Every town has primary and junior high school competitions, and at the municipal level, there is a platform such as the Dongguan Basketball League. This is a good thing for every teenager who loves basketball. As long as they work hard, they will definitely be rewarded. After all, the platform It has been built, and they have ample opportunities to show their talents.” Xiao Hailiang said.
Basketball is integrated into the blood of the city, and a virtuous circle of professional folks is promoted
Today’s Dongguan basketball has formed a situation in which professional basketball represented by Guangdong Hongyuan men’s basketball team and Dongguan Xintongsheng women’s basketball team and folk basketball represented by city league and three-person basketball are mutually reinforcing. In Fang Weimin’s view, Dongguan’s basketball masses have created a professional basketball team, and when the professional basketball team has formed a certain influence, it will attract more basketball enthusiasts, thereby promoting the development of amateur basketball. Fang Weimin said: “Dongguan’s football market has always been very good. Like the current Guangdong Hongyuan and the previous Dongguan New Century, there are many audiences to support. And these professional teams have attracted more fans to join the basketball game. .”
This is what Fang Weimin often calls a “virtuous circle.” In his view, only when a region’s sports enter a virtuous circle can it develop by leaps and bounds. The hot basketball atmosphere in Dongguan has made basketball a city card of Dongguan. When you mention Dongguan, you will think of basketball, and when you mention Chinese basketball, you will think of Dongguan. Fang Weiming said: “Actually, players like Du Feng and Zhu Fangyu are not from Dongguan, but they come to Dongguan with a sense of belonging and are willing to bring other players to Dongguan. This is the charm of Dongguan basketball.”
There is no doubt about the strength of Dongguan basketball. In terms of professional teams, Guangdong Hongyuan has won 11 CBA championships, which is the team with the most championships in history; Guangdong Xintongsheng Women’s Basketball Team also won the WCBA championship for the first time in 2019. Yang Liwei, Huang Sijing and Li Yueru, who have been trained by the team, have become the backbone of the Chinese women’s basketball national team. At the level of folk basketball, Dongguan has also achieved outstanding results. Since the Guangdong Provincial Basketball Association held the first Guangdong Men’s Basketball League in 2015, the Dongguan team has completed the championship of the past years and achieved seven consecutive championships. Therefore, Fang Weimin can proudly say the well-known slogan: Chinese basketball sees Guangdong, Guangdong basketball sees Dongguan.
More importantly, basketball has been deeply integrated into the blood of the city of Dongguan. Li Yuanwei, the former executive vice chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, once said in an interview: “If you want to really understand China and Chinese basketball, you must go to Dongguan.” Dongguan has the best professional basketball clubs and non-governmental leagues in the country. , Professional basketball and folk basketball promote each other and improve together. Almost every Dongguan citizen can find a sense of identity with the city from basketball, which is the meaning of basketball to Dongguan.
Editor: Zheng Jianlong
