The Stankovic Basketball Championship was initiated by Dr. Carl Men Ky Ching, President of the United World Chinese Association and President of the International Basketball Federation. The aim is to have basketball matches held in the name of Mr Stankovic, in commemoration to his contributions to the international development of basketball. Two of the Stankovic Basketball Championship was sponsored by the International Basketball Federation, with the Chinese Basketball Association as the co-sponsor.
Meanwhile, Dr Carl Men Ky Ching, the only Chinese President in the International Olympic Council, decided to have the Championship held in China in order to assist and promote the development of basketball in China. The first Championship took place in 2005, in Beijing, the capital of China. The Second Stankovic Basketball Championship took place between 11 – 15 August in Jiangsu, China. 6 teams of international standards will meet and compete, an exchange of their techniques.
Basketball teams that participated in the Second Stankovic Basketball Championship are, Asian Champion China, American Champion Brazil, Australasia Champion Australia, European Champion Greece, European Runners-up Germany and European 2nd Runners-up France. This competition was the last high-standard competition before the World Men’s Basketball Championship, which was Japan. Therefore, regardless of being Champions of their continent, all teams would like to have a final warm-up before the World Championship, and adjust to the time-zone differences. This makes the Second Stankovic Basketball Championship being the most unusual and with the best qualifying teams.
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