UCLA Basketball In China: Shanghai Sharks Exhibition Open Thread

Coach Ben Howland's Bruins are wrapping their exhibition game in China today with a matchup against the Shanghai Sharks. From the reports, notes and comments from folks watching YouTube stream it appears that we can't really take much from Bruins' first two games. Both of them have been blowouts and sounds like they have been glorified summer league games with multicultural pageantry to go along with it.

Tonight's game could be interesting though b/c the Sharks are from the same league (CBA) as the Bayi Rockets - the team that got tangled up in an ugly brawl w the Georgetown Hoyas last year. From the China Daily:

On the Shanghai side, former NCAA center Zhang Zhaoxu, who played three season for the University of California, Berkeley from 2007-2010, will lead a young roster that includes budding forward Cai Chen and guard Meng Lingyuan.

There was also this rather amusing preview from "Shanghai in Pulse":

The Shanghai Sharks (上海玛吉斯) will match up against American powerhouse UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) on August 28 at Shanghai's Yuanshen Stadium. The Shanghai Sharks are a big name in Chinese ball: the 2001 and 2002 winners of the Chinese Basketball Associated League Title. The team is now under the guidance of Yao Ming (姚明) and features some powerful core players like Liu Wei (刘炜) and Zhang Zhaoxu (张兆旭). UCLA plays in the NCAA western Pac-12 league, one of the strongest leagues in American college basketball. The UCLA Brown Bears, one of the best teams in America, are definitely a team to watch out for!

Well there you go! If you are up in during insane morning hours in the West or just getting started with the day out East, please "watch out" and take in some "Brown Bears" hoops action for the rest of us. File your in game comment here and if you have extended reflections after the game, consider putting them up in a fanpost.

For those of you who are on Twitter - you can get some updates via @UCLAMBB. If there are any official streaming outlet that has been promoted by athletic department or from Shanghai Sharks, please drop that link in the comment thread. With that said - the court is all yours. Fire away.

GO BRUINS.