In 2026, the basketball moment that moved me the most

On ordinary school courts and rural open spaces, there will still be a group of dark-skinned children, braving the scorching midday sun, running and jumping barefoot on the court tirelessly, gulping down water.

Just like me 20 years ago....

In the push from a few days ago, Brother Di wrote this passage.

Perhaps, this is the most simple and true form of countless basketball-loving teenagers.

Coincidentally, last night I came across a video that added a heavy layer of emotion to this picture:At the Yao Foundation National Tournament, a group of children who lost the finals due to a heartbreaking buzzer-beater turned into tearful messes after the game.

Former national player Kelan Baike warmly comforted them on the side.

We have seen too many tears of defeat on the court, and everyone's basketball dream journey harbors several unforgettable losses.

But when we understand the circumstances behind these children, we realize that this teenage tears are especially heavy and especially moving.

This year's Yao Foundation National Tournament featured 48 teams from 17 provinces, autonomous regions, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, who spent a six-day basketball journey in Enshi.

The runner-up team was Fuyan Town Central School from Menglian County, Yunnan Province.

In competitive sports, the runner-up is often seen as a symbol of regret and the biggest loser, but in this dream-chasing story that spans mountains and seas, they were never losers.

Fuyan Town, Menglian County, Pu'er, Yunnan, lies quietly among the rolling mountains along the southern border of Yunnan, close to the border line, and is a typical frontier minority township.

Here, ethnic minorities account for over 95% of the population, with the Wa, Lahu, Dai, and other ethnic groups living together for generations, helping each other.

Located here isFuyan Town Central School, the only integrated public school for primary and secondary education in Fuyan Town.

This special basketball team is composed of Wa and Lahu teenagers side by side.

Hastily formed in April 2025, starting from scratch and unknown to anyone, but with sincerity and extreme perseverance, they fought their way through thorns, won the county championship, captured the Yunnan provincial title, and finally broke through the barriers of mountains and seas to reach the national stage.

These children, some left-behind, some from single-parent families, never had an easy childhood. They carry sugarcane, pick coffee, tap rubber, pick tea on the mountains, take on all the farm work at home, and take care of younger siblings...

The heavy burden of life was placed on their shoulders early on.

The mountains are their homeland, but also the walls that trap them.

To leave the border town, they need to cross many mountains, endure an hour of bumpy mountain roads, and a four-hour long-distance bus ride, traveling tirelessly to get out of the mountains.

They have been confined to the mountains all their lives, never seen the vast sea of clouds or the bustling city. Many children's biggest wish is to take a plane ride and see the outside world from the clouds.

What is ordinary in the eyes of city children was originally unreachable deep in the mountains.

Fortunately, basketball speaks, and kindness knows no bounds.

Thanks to the public welfare empowerment of the Yao Foundation, the small dreams of these frontier teenagers finally stepped out of fantasy and into reality, gaining a broad stage to bloom and go nationwide.

As of 2026, the Yao Foundation Basketball Season has been held for 15 consecutive sessions, partnering with more than 80 higher education institutions across the country, and has dispatched a total of 9,029 volunteer teachers.

It has carried out sports teaching, basketball training, and training league activities in more than 6,000 rural schools across over 600 counties (cities, districts) in more than 30 provinces nationwide.

At the same time, it also provides hardware support to these rural schools, giving rural youth more professional and fair sports opportunities.

Last year, Brother Di participated in a Yao Foundation event in Pingtan and personally experienced the warmth and power that spans mountains and seas.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints this year, I did not come to Enshi to witness the passionate journey of the teenagers in person.

But when I browsed through the photos of these frontier teenagers, I was instantly deeply moved.

I finally understood the weight of the sentence my Yao Foundation friend sent me: "It brought tears to everyone in our team."

Training under the scorching sun in the mountains all year round and working in the fields, the sun has given them a coat of dark, shiny skin. Every inch of dark skin is a medal carved by the mountains and time.

Sitting in my office in Shenzhen, gazing at these teenagers through the screen, I don't need any fancy words to describe how deeply moved I am.

Devoid of childishness, their eyes are clear and bright, filled with love for basketball and longing for the distance, pure and determined.

This sincerity, untempered by the world, is especially moving and touches the heart.

The mountain teenagers, charging all the way from the deep mountain concrete court, broke into the national finals stage.

On the court, they gave their all, fought to the last second, and ultimately lost by a heartbreaking 2 points.

The moment the final whistle blew, all the reluctance, exhaustion, and unwillingness erupted. The children, who usually run tenaciously on the court and never complain, all had red eyes and lowered their heads in tears.

A 2-point gap is a cold result of victory and defeat in competitive sports, but it is never the standard answer to the dream-chasing story of these frontier teenagers.

I believe that Kelan Baike, who has been through the rain himself, must be the most touched.

This national player was born into an ordinary Kirgiz family in Atushi City, southern Xinjiang. His childhood was accompanied by the word "suffering" from beginning to end.

He never experienced the feeling of having no worries about food and clothing. He never wore new clothes; most of his clothes were old ones given by relatives and friends, and mending and washing them repeatedly was the norm.

The Tianshan Mountains are vast, the Gobi Desert is boundless.

That teenager who emerged from the suffering of southern Xinjiang, after retiring, has been deeply engaged in public welfare, illuminating others.

Not just Kelan, this goodwill and perseverance that spans mountains and seas is exactly the unchanging original intention of the Yao Foundation over the years.

From a legendary basketball star and chairman of the Basketball Association to a practitioner of rural sports public welfare, Yao Ming has never stopped at his own glory.

He deeply understands that the meaning of sports goes beyond wins and losses and trophies; it lies in giving children in difficult situations the courage to face hardship, the confidence to pursue the future, and the power to break through fate.

Educate, cultivate, and empower people.

At the end of the story, I want to say two things to these children.

Victory and defeat are just a moment; growth runs through a long life.

Lift your heads; beyond the court, there is a broader world waiting for you to explore.

True growth, most importantly, is to step out of the mountain within your heart.