Basketball fever set to grip in Macau

A new pre-season Asian club tournament looks set to ignite basketball fever in Macau while also serving as a valuable warm-up for competitors ahead of the start of their regular domestic leagues.

The Super 8 championship, an invitational tournament featuring eight professional clubs from China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei, will start on Wednesday at Studio City Macao and run through Sunday.

The clubs, all championship winners or title contenders in their domestic leagues, will be drawn into two groups, each playing three round-robin games over as many days. The top two from each group will advance to the semifinals to contest a place in the final.

Each team is allowed to register two foreign imports on its roster in an effort to increase the standard of the competition.

As a first of its kind club-level continental tournament for the Asia-Pacific, the tournament promises to be a treat for Asian hoop fans.

Among the intriguing battles to look forward to are the match-ups between China's national center Li Muhao, of Shenzhen Leopards, and Japans Ryuichi Kishimoto, of Ryukyu Golden Kings, along with the battle between rising Chinese star Hu Jinqiu, of the Zhejiang Lions, and South Korea-American guard Moon Tae-Jong, of Goyang Orions.

"This elite-level cross-country club competition is truly exciting, and we are confident it will provide an entertaining experience for all the fans," said tournament CEO Matt Beyer.

A live stream of the action will be available on more than 10 primetime TV and digital platforms across Asia, including Guangdong Satellite TV and Baofeng Sports in China, SpoTV in South Korea, and True Visions in Thailand.