On the evening of August 23, the week-long 2025 China Small Basketball Finals ended successfully at the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center. At the same time, the 2025 National U14 Youth Basketball League Finals, as an advanced version of the small basketball, successfully concluded at the Xiamen Sports Center after two weeks of fierce battle. It is reported that the 2026 and 2027 China Small Basketball Finals will continue to be held in Siming District, Xiamen.
As the highest-standard event for Chinese youth basketball under the age of 14, the Chinese Basketball Series and National Finals hosted by the Chinese Basketball Association were held in Xiamen, Ludao Sports is full of stars. Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame members Chen Daohong, Zheng Haixia, Liu Yudong, Gong Xiaobin and Xiamen Olympic weightlifting champion Lin Qingfeng gathered in Xiamen to help the first national finals after the release of the "Little Basketball Development Plan" in 2017.
Zheng Haixia, the first Asian in history to enter the WNBA arena and an iconic figure in the history of the development of the Chinese women's basketball, said during the Xiamen game that she saw the love of Chinese youth for basketball. Through the platform of national events, the children's basic skills are becoming more and more solid and their movements are becoming more and more standardized. I believe that with the continuous holding of high-level events, the overall level of Chinese youth basketball will also rise.
The national final held in Siming District coincides with the summer vacation. Among them, the U14 Youth Basketball League final has 32 teams from all over the country. The Chinese Basketball Series National Finals have 265 teams from all over the country, with a total of 2,800 players participating in the competition. In addition, nearly 8,300 coaches, referees, staff and parents, it brought 36,000 passenger flow to the exhibition center and sports center, and the event directly drove consumption of more than 50 million yuan.
Basketball feasts are coming to the Heron. Children in Xiamen feel the power of role models
Xiamen has a deep basketball heritage, and Xiamen University has a basketball history of more than a hundred years. Xiamen basketball not only has a strong mass base, but also cultivates CBA players such as Zhou Qixin and Lin Wei. Among them, Lin Wei also participated in the NBA draft this year. In 2016, the WCBA All-Star Game was staged at the Jimei Jiageng Stadium; in 2023 and 2024, the CBA All-Star Game was held at the Phoenix Stadium for two consecutive years.
As Siming District holds major youth competitions such as the NYBO and the National Basketball Finals for two consecutive years, Xiamen's basketball popularity is getting higher and higher. Zhou Hua, a technical representative of this competition and professor at Fujian Sports Vocational and Technical College, said that many industry insiders, including him, are delighted to see that the overall level of Chinese youth basketball is gradually improving. "Xiamen has held more and more basketball feasts in recent years. Xiamen children who like basketball have seen the power of role models up close and watched high-level basketball competitions, which will undoubtedly bring positive promotion to the development of Xiamen youth basketball."
Since the CBA All-Star Game, Zheng Haixia has frequently visited Xiamen to attend basketball activities in the past two years. She told reporters that she has visited several schools, seen the children's love for basketball, and met a friend who works as a coach at the grassroots level. "Xiamen already has a WCBA team, and I hope to have a CBA club as soon as possible. Many excellent event platforms have come to Xiamen, and the children have goals and dreams. This is the greatest hope for Chinese basketball."
According to Lin Wenwu, Secretary-General of Xiamen Basketball Association, Xiamen Basketball has achieved fruitful results in recent years. Since 2019, the total number of participants in the Xiamen Basketball Event has exceeded 10,000. In the 2025 Fujian Youth Basketball Championship and Middle School Basketball League (Group A) competition that ended not long ago, Tong'an No. 1 Middle School won the first place in the men's group and Xiamen Double Ten Middle School won the second place in the women's group. In the basketball league (Group B), Xiamen No. 10 Middle School won the third place in the men's group, and Xiamen Double Ten Middle School won the women's group championship.
