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Saturday September 15, 2007

Yao Ming slam dunks MJ in auction

BEIJING: Houston Rocket Yao Ming slam dunked NBA legend Michael Jordan at a charity auction here, with a pair of the centre’s shoes fetching nearly 10 times more than a Chicago Bulls jersey.

The signed shoes and some other items went for 3.6mil yuan (US$480,000) at the Thursday night event, while the jersey signed and worn by Jordan during the 1996 NBA finals sold for a paltry 380,000 yuan, the First newspaper reported.

The president of one of China’s biggest beverage companies, Huiyuan, also received two front row seats to the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and a Games banner signed by NBA stars and China’s national basketball team for his winning bid.

But with Olympic opening ceremony tickets selling for up to 5,000 yuan each, it was clear that Yao Ming’s shoes were the top attraction.

A total of 6.75mil yuan was raised at the auction attended by a bevy of Chinese movie and pop stars, with Yao Ming contributing another 250,000 yuan to top up the proceeds that will go to help educate impoverished Chinese children. – AFP

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