Teams from Hainan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao compete in Haikou basketball tournament

(ECNS) -- A basketball invitational tournament featuring teams from Hainan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao was held in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, on Thursday.

Five teams — representing Hainan Normal University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau Haojun Sports Association and the Hainan Taiwan Enterprises Association — are competing in the two-day event.

The organizer said the tournament aims to foster communication and friendship among young people from the four regions through the sport of basketball.

Huang Shengfeng, a third-year student at Macau University of Science and Technology, said his team prepared specifically for the tournament before coming to Haikou, including practicing defensive transitions and counterattacks.

In his view, such tournaments are valuable for youth interaction. He said basketball serves as a shared language and helps players quickly find common ground.

"We don't often get to connect with students from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Hainan, and know them mostly from online. But standing on the same court, playing, running and cheering together is a completely different experience," he said. 

(By Tang Yuxian)