BEIJING - Quincy Douby won the Chinese Basketball Association's (CBA) All-Star Game's most valuable player (MVP) award and was "proud" to lead the North team over the South, 115-114, but those weren't the game's highlight for the Brooklyn, New York, native.

"I am happy to get this award. It means a lot to me," said Douby, whose 44 points set a new all-star record, over Hu Weidong's 42 in1997.

However, what inspired him the most during the game at the MasterCard Center on Sunday night was playing one-on-one with his old neighbor, Stephon Marbury, who also came from that southwest borough of New York City.

"I never imagined that one day I would play against him on a Chinese basketball court, thousands of miles away from our home. It's cool and it feels great. It has been a lot of fun," Douby, 26, told China Daily after being honored with the all-star MVP trophy.

Joining the CBA's Xinjiang Flying Tigers last September, Douby, the Sacramento Kings' first-round pick at No 19 in 2006, helped the team clinch its first regular season title with a rampant 31-1 record.

Leading the side's offence with 30.7 points per game, and a 53.78 field goal percentage, Douby was hailed as a scoring machine and this season's best foreign player.

The red-hot swingman continued his fine form at the All-Star Game, netting six 3-pointers while his primary opponent, Marbury, claimed 30 points and 7 assists.

Marbury, 34, couldn't repeat his heroics of last year when his long-range barrage earned him the MVP award at the same venue, but impressed Douby with his pace.

"He is still a great player although he has not played in the NBA for a few years. He is still fast and he put on a big show. He brought his game and I brought mine. We had a great time," said Douby, who will take his MVP trophy back to the US and "show his kids how dad is going in China".

Although finishing the regular season as clear favorite for the 2010-2011 CBA championship, Douby is urging his team to be wary of its first-round playoff opponent, the Beijing Ducks, which finished eighth in the regular season.

"We have got the ability to win the whole thing, but we still have to keep our heads together and play hard as a team. Then we will be OK."

Douby and the Flying Tigers will play their first playoff game at the Ducks' home stadium, Shougang Gymnasium, on Wednesday.

China Daily

(China Daily 03/22/2011 page22)