The night before, after the game between the CBA League Guangdong Hongyuan men's basketball team and the Zhejiang Guangsha team, the Hongyuan club held a jersey retirement ceremony for Yi Jianlian, an iconic figure of the Chinese men's basketball team. Although Yi Jianlian held a farewell ceremony in Guangzhou in September, the retirement of the jersey this time means that his 21-year career is truly over, and he will leave the field.
Adequate preparations were made for the layout of the venue.
The venue of the game is the home of Guangdong Hongyuan men's basketball team - Dongguan Bank Basketball Center, and full preparations have been made in the layout of the venue before the game. Above the stadium hangs a huge poster of Yi Jianlian, and the entire stadium is covered with red No. 9 jerseys, which are Yi Jianlian's exclusive jersey numbers. This commemorative jersey is made of red background with gilt fonts, which is both atmospheric and solemn. In addition, the lighting adjustment of the venue is also pleasing to the eye. Coupled with a packed crowd of 20,000 spectators, the ceremony became the most lavish and spectacular jersey retirement ceremony in CBA history.
The guests who came to participate in the retirement ceremony of Yi Jianlian's jersey were not only heavyweights in Chinese basketball, but also his new and old teammates when he played for the national team and the Guangdong team. Including Yao Ming, Xu Jicheng, Daniel Zhang, Li Qun, Li Chunjiang, Li Nan, Battle, Chen Jianghua, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng, Zhou Peng, Sun Yue, Su Wei, Zhao Rui, etc. all appeared at the scene, and representatives of the entertainment and entertainment industry Pan Weibai and Zhang Yishan congratulated on the spot.
The ceremony is held on the anniversary of the debut.
December 29 is the anniversary of Yi Jianlian's career - on December 29, 2002, Yi Jianlian ushered in his CBA debut at home, and the opponent at that time was the Jilin men's basketball team. As a young man, he played nine minutes, shooting 1-of-3 for two points and three rebounds.
The UAE still remembers that game vividly, revealing at the ceremony: "The choice to retire the shirt today was deliberately chosen by the club. I joined Hongyuan 21 years ago today, and I got the opportunity to play on the same day. Before the start of the game against Jilin, Harue asked me to put on my jersey, I thought I was making up the numbers, but the coach really let me play in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. I was nervous when I got on the pitch, my palms were sweaty, I was very excited, very nervous. Looking back on his 21-year career, the UAE is full of emotion.
The number 9 jersey will be permanently hung at home.
After Guangdong's reversal of the defeat of Guangsha, Yi Jianlian's jersey retirement ceremony began. Yi Jianlian, who was very handsome in a suit, said to the fans after he came on stage: "I'm back, everyone hasn't seen you for a long time." Yi Jianlian received a souvenir from the relevant leaders, and then hugged Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. Yao Ming's message to Yi Jianlian: I look forward to hearing your story again in the Basketball Hall of Fame in a few years. Yi Jianlian thanked many people in his speech, which touched the fans, and he himself burst into tears.
In addition to spending 5 years in the NBA, Yi Jianlian spent the remaining 16 years of his career in the Guangdong men's basketball team. Since 2002, Yi Jianlian has played for the Guangdong men's basketball team, and has helped the team win 7 championships, including 3 finals MVP. Yi Jianlian also won the regular season MVP 5 times, the dunk king 2 times, the All-Star 14 times, and the All-Star MVP 2 times. Yi Jianlian, who is the Chinese men's national basketball team, is the flag-bearer after Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi retired, and is a representative player of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Since then, although Yi Jianlian has completely bid farewell to basketball, his No. 9 jersey will be permanently hung over the home court of the Guangdong Hongyuan men's basketball team, becoming an example for younger generations of young players to look up to and catch up.
Text: Reporter Liu Ailin.
Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
*: Beijing Youth Daily.