TBT Basketball Tournament Heads to China in Deal With Yao Ming
- Partnership with Beijing Starz will start 2017 tourney there
- Ex-NBA All-Star is ambassador for basketball in Asian nation
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The Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all event in which former pros and reunited college teams compete for $2 million, is expanding to China in a partnership with former NBA All-Star Yao Ming.
Yao and Beijing Starz International Sports Management Co. will help launch a tournament next year in China, according to tournament co-founder Jon Mugar. The Chinese version will be modeled after the U.S. tournament, in which teams gain free entry through social-media support and the most active fans share in the prize money.