Liang Xiaoye (second right) had more than just basketball in mind when she bought her ticket to Macau. Photo: Stephy Zhang
Basketball fans draped in the red of Houston and blue of Dallas flooded into The Venetian Macau on Friday ahead of the first of this year’s NBA China Games.
The exhibition between the Rockets and Mavericks forms the centrepiece of a five-day basketball festival that tipped off on Wednesday and will conclude with a second match between the two on Sunday.
Crowds gathered hours in advance of the opening tip-off, and lengthy queues snaked past the prominent NBA House entrance archway along the carpeted concourse of the Cotai Expo.
Inside the venue, fans flocked to NBA merchandise exhibits, food pop-ups, and interactive set-ups including shooting challenges and video game stations.