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Shanghai fans cheer on Yao Posted: Sunday November 03, 2002 12:43 AMSHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Chinese fans of Houston Rockets' center Yao Ming cheered his homecourt debut with a party in his hometown of Shanghai and said the No. 1 overall draft pick was destined to become a major force in the NBA. "Pass it to Yao," shouted fans, who cheered and applauded every time the 2.29-meter (7-foot-6) center appeared on the television screen. About 150 people turned out to watch Yao and the Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 83-74 in Houston on Saturday night, early Sunday morning in Shanghai. The game was broadcast live on Shanghai Television's sports channel and shown on a projection TV in the ballroom of a downtown hotel in China's bustling commercial capital. Yao, scoreless in his NBA debut Wednesday night, scored two points in the game on 1-of-5 shooting and had seven rebounds in 13 minutes of playing time. "Yao is still new to the league and we all need to give him a little time to adjust," said Zhang Wei, a member of Yao's old team, the Shanghai Sharks. "There are a billion people in China who are going to give him the biggest boost possible," said Zhang, standing beside a banner bearing Yao's picture and a greeting in Chinese that read "best of luck to Yao Ming in the NBA." Longtime fan Ren Wenbin, 62, said Yao is already showing signs of progress. "I was really anxious during Yao's first game because he didn't seem to be used to the style of play, but now it looks like he's starting to adjust," said Ren, a retired school teacher. Ren said he has been following Yao's career as a player on the national team and with the Sharks for five years. Another fan, Chen Lin, said Yao's size and presence were already great assets for the Rockets. "A player that size is good for the whole team, and once he adapts to the NBA, he'll really be a star," Chen said. In an interview with Shanghai TV accompanying the broadcast, Yao said he had benefited much from the intense physical training regime run by Houston's trainers. NBA watchers had said Yao needed to boost his upper-body strength to handle the more physical American game. Yao's parents, both former Chinese national team players, were in Houston to watch the game.
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