Sports midday | Chinese men s basketball team welcomes a good start in the Asian Cup, New Moon is denied the qualification for the Sha Chao Cup next season

Qilu Evening News·Qilu One Point Huaixiao

In the early morning of August 6, in the first round of the 2025 Asian Cup group stage, the Chinese men's basketball team relied on the rotation of inside players Hu Jinqiu and Yu Jiahao, as well as the good performance of players such as Zhao Rui and Wang Junjie, and finally narrowly defeated Saudi Arabia 93:88 and achieved a good start.

Today, the Saudi Football Association's Discipline and Ethics Committee announced that it would cancel the qualification of the Sandy Super Cup in Riyadh Crescent 2026-2027 season and fined 500,000 Riyals (US$133,000).

Tennis court, WTA 1000 Montreal Women's Doubles semi-final, the No. 3 seed Zhang Shuai/Townsend defeated Dolehead/Kenning 6:2 and 6:4, and advanced to the final with an 8-game winning streak of women's doubles, "back-to-back" and will compete with Gouf/Kesler for the championship.

Men's Basketball Asian Cup:

Chinese Men's Basketball Team beat Saudi Arabia 93:88 and achieved a good start

In the early morning of August 6, in the first round of the 2025 Men's Basketball Team Asian Cup group stage, the Chinese Men's Basketball Team relied on the rotation of inside players Hu Jinqiu and Yu Jiahao, as well as the good performance of players such as Zhao Rui and Wang Junjie, and finally narrowly defeated Saudi Arabia 93:88 and achieved a good start.

It is worth mentioning that the Chinese men's basketball team had faced Saudi Arabia seven times in the Asian Cup predecessor of the Asian Cup, with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss. The latest encounter can be traced back to the Doha Asian Championships 20 years ago. The Chinese men's basketball team beat Saudi Arabia 98:10, with a net victory of 88 points, setting a record for the largest score difference between the two sides.

Of course, Saudi Arabia is no longer the same as it used to be. After the game began, Saudi Arabia took the lead and they scored a 6:2 lead. The Chinese men's basketball team found its state at the end of the quarter, and Cheng Shuipeng's breakthrough helped the Chinese team to overtake the score.

The two sides played in a relatively stalemate in the second quarter. The Chinese men's basketball team repeatedly widened the score difference to double digits. Saudi Arabia was able to catch up quickly. After the half-time, the Chinese men's basketball team led the Saudi team 53:43.

As soon as the third quarter came, the Saudi team launched a continuous attack, narrowing the gap to 3 points. Captain Zhao Rui's three-pointer helped the Chinese men's basketball team stabilize the situation. Since then, the Chinese team has played steadily and expanded the gap again. After the third quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team led the Saudi team 80:65. In the last quarter of the game, the offensive efficiency of the two teams decreased and they made frequent shots. After that, the Saudi team took the lead and narrowed the gap to 5 points. At the last moment, the Chinese men's basketball team defended their lead and defeated the Saudi team with a score of 93:88, making a good start.

On the afternoon of August 7, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the second opponent of the Asian Cup, India. India lost to his opponent 84:91 in the match against Jordan on the 5th.

Sha Super Cup:

Riyadh Crescent was denied the qualification to participate in the next season and fined US$130,000

On August 6, the Saudi Football Association's Discipline and Ethics Committee announced that it would cancel the qualification to participate in the 2026-2027 season of Riyadh Crescent and fined 500,000 Riyals (US$133,000).

Last month, Riyadh Crescent withdrew from the Sand Super Cup, which was originally scheduled to be held in Hong Kong, China from August 19 to 23, 2025, on the grounds of player fatigue, and Jeddah Nationals took over the competition.

The Commission on Discipline and Ethics stated in a statement: "Riyadh Crescent refused to participate in the 2025-2026 Saudi Super Cup after the official schedule of the event was announced. Therefore, the Commission ruled that Riyadh Crescent violated Article 59-3 of the Discipline and Ethics Ordinance and imposed a fine of 500,000 Riyals (US$133,000) on the club and paid to SAFF."

In addition to the fine, Riyadh Crescent was also prohibited from participating in the 2026-2027 Super Cup and deprived of all bonuses for this season's event. Riyadh Crescent can appeal.

This Saudi Super Cup will stage three exciting matches in Hong Kong, including two semi-finals and one championship match. According to the draw results on June 19, the first semi-final will be held at 8 pm on Tuesday, August 19, with Riyadh victorious against Jeddah United.

Another semi-final will be staged at 8 pm on Wednesday, August 20, with Hubairkusia facing the Jeddah Nationals. The two winners will fight against Xiangjiang at 8 pm on Saturday, August 23, to compete for the throne of the Saudi Super Cup.

GB:

revealed that Los Angeles FC has signed Son Heung-min, with a record transfer fee of US$26.5 million

On August 6, according to TheAthletic, Los Angeles FC has completed Son Heung-min's transfer, and the transfer fee has set a record for the GB.

Son Heung-min will join Los Angeles FC in the next few days, and Los Angeles FC will pay Tottenham about $26.5 million. Prior to that, the UEFA transfer fee record was $22 million, which was set by Atlanta United when signing Côte d'Ivoire striker Rat Rash in February this year.

Son Heung-min will become the biggest star in the league except Messi, and add a top player to this Los Angeles FC, which has maintained its championship-winning strength for many years.

Son Heung-min's transfer may become one of the most important signings in MLS history. He has a large number of fans in South Korea and across Southeast Asia. This transfer may also push the Los Angeles FC market influence to new heights.

His influence on the business level cannot be underestimated: Korean fans have often flew to London to watch Son Heung-min's game, and journalists have also traveled to London to report on the star. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, Los Angeles, where he will now land, has the largest Korean-American population (320,000), which is also the largest Korean-American community outside South Korea.

Some British media believe that the Korean community and the "home" experience before the World Cup is an important reason why Son Heung-min joined Los Angeles FC.

Los Angeles FC is currently ranked 6th in the American League Western Conference, 10 points behind the top Western Conference team San Diego. At present, the two clubs, Los Angeles FC and Tottenham, have not officially announced the transfer news, so it is not clear when Son Heung-min will be officially debuted..

NBA:

Celtics reached a 3-for-1 deal with the Jazz

On August 6, according to famous reporter Shams, sources revealed that the Boston Celtics reached a deal with the Utah Jazz. The Celtics sent forward Georges Nian + two future second-round picks, and got rookie RJ Louis Jr. from the Jazz trade.

Salary expert Marks said the Jazz used some trading exceptions in the deal - the $26.6 million deal exception came from a tripartite deal last month when the Jazz traded John Collins to the Clippers.

This is another salary cleanup operation for the Celtics, which allows them to significantly below the second tyrant line.

Nion was traded from the Hawks by the Celtics in a three-party blockbuster deal involving Porzingis in this offseason. Nian's contract next season is $8.2 million and is about to expire.

This year, Nian has made frequent moves. He played for the Cavaliers at the beginning of last season, playing 51 games for the Cavaliers, and was then traded to the Hawks in February. In the Hawks, Nion played 28 games. Last season, he averaged 21.5 minutes per game, scoring 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

Nion will add a big man with space to the Jazz's bench, and his career three-point shooting percentage is 39.9%.

Louis is a undrafted rookie from St. John's University and has signed a two-way contract that will fill the Celtics' vacant two-way contract spot.

Through this deal about Nion, the Celtics' luxury tax bills were reduced by about $50 million. At present, they only exceeded the first tyrant line by $1.7 million and exceeded the luxury tax line by $9.4 million. In addition, they created a transaction exception worth $8.2 million.

WTA1000 Montreal Station:

Zhang Shuai defeated Dollehead/Kenning 2:0 and advanced to the women's doubles final

In the early morning of August 6, the WTA1000 Montreal Station women's doubles semi-finals, and the 3rd seed Zhang Shuai/Townsend defeated Dollehead/Kenning 6:2 and 6:4, and advanced to the final with an 8-game winning streak of women's doubles, "back-to-back" and will compete with Gouf/Kesler for the championship.

Zhang Shuai has maintained a complete victory since partnering with Townsend at Washington Station, and his partner Townsend has also risen to the world number one in the women's doubles.

Zhang Shuai/Townsend faced the American combination Dollehead/Kenning is also an old opponent. The two pairs had just met in the women's doubles final in Washington, when Zhang Shuai swept the championship 6:1.

Meet again after a week. Zhang Shuai's combination broke through and protected in the first set and gained a 2:0 lead. In the 7th game, Zhang Shuai/Townsend broke the serve and led 5:2 again. Then the two saved 3 break points and successfully retained the serve, winning the first set 6:2.

In the second set, Zhang Shuai/Townsend broke the opponent's serve in the 5th game and took a 3:2 lead. In the 10th game, Zhang Shuai's combination successfully retained the serve in the victory game, winning the second set 6:4.

In the end, in a game that took 1 hour and 05 minutes, Zhang Shuai/Townsend defeated Dolehead/Koning 6:2 and 6:4, achieving an 8-game winning streak, and reached the finals for two consecutive matches. Next, the Zhang Shuai/Townsend combination will compete with Gaofu/Kesler for the final championship.