Joseph Young named MVP as South dominates in CBA All-Star game

Former NBA player Joseph Young was named MVP on Sunday as he scored a game-high 40 points to lead the South to a 160-145 victory over the North in the 2018-2019 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) All-Star game in Qingdao.

Joseph Young (Right) is given the MVP trophy after the CBA All-Star Game in Qingdao on Jan 13, 2019. [Photo: IC]

The game started with two guards jumping for the ball, and Guo Ailun scored first two points for the North. The South got a 40-29 lead in the first quarter as Young contributed 15 points.

Five guards of the North launched a challenge against five giants when the second quarter started. Consecutive dunks helped the South keep the 11-point lead before the halftime interval.

The North fought back hard in the third quarter and narrowed the gap to five points, but Young and Jimmer Fredette put a dampener on the North's rally.

With a more effective team play, the South nailed the victory 160-145.

Seven players of the South scored double-digits. Young hit eight three-pointers out of 12 attempts, Fredette had 39 points and five rebounds, and Zhou Peng pocketed 10 points.

In North's side, Shabazz Muhammad scored a team-high 28 points and nine dunks, and Guo contributed 26 points and 15 assists.

Wang Zhelin, starting center of the South, got seven points. "I feel great in this All-Star game. The South won and I had some great performances as well," he said.

Defending champion Zhang Jianhao from Guangdong University of Technology was crowned in the Dunk Contest with 79 points, as players of the Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA) are also able to participate in the CBA All-Star Weekend.

Wang Tong, who placed first in the Dunk Contest preliminary round, had to withdraw as he got injured in the training just before the game.

"Although I win, I am not satisfied with my performance. It's also a pity that Wang Tong can't show up in the final," Zhang said.

Jiang Weize from Jilin Northeast Tigers pocketed the first prize of Technics Challenge in a record-breaking 26.5 seconds, and Chen Linjian from Fujian Sturgeon won the trophy of Three-Point Shooting Contest.