Rural basketball tournament has unusual prizes

A big cow showed up at an amateur basketball tournament, along with five goats, 20 chickens and other animals.

The games took place in a square in a rural village in Luquan Yi and Miao autonomous county of Kunming, Yunnan province, and it was all seemed bit more joyful than a professional tournament.

The Cun BA — Village Basketball Association — tournament unfolded over four days before the award ceremony on Saturday.

The champions, a team from Zhongping town, won a cow, signifying niu qi chong tian — bullish on competitiveness.

Other teams won five goats, five huotui (local pig legs) and 20 chickens, all agricultural products from Zhongping town.

The grassroots prizes not only gave the tournament a sense of rustic charm but also helped promote the products, according to local government officials.

"We hope this will help us promote sports, tourism and agricultural products, while holding games to meet people's needs in culture and sports," said the county's deputy head, Chen Yun.

The tournament was attended by 15 basketball teams from townships in the county. The players were restaurant waiters, delivery drivers or local civil servants.

There were 33 games over four days, attracting more than 20,000 spectators at site and about 100,000 netizens enjoying the games online via livestreaming.