The small village head broadcast the magic beast IP "Xiezhi" to encourage villagers to participate actively, and the Shanghai version of "Village BA" ended in the village BA | Pujiang Town | Shanghai

On the evening of August 5, 2023, the final of the first Huatian "Village BA" basketball tournament in Pujiang Town, Minhang District was held at the outdoor basketball court of Huizhong Village. In addition to trophy prizes, the top three teams also won local specialty agricultural products.

Since the start of the match on the 28th of last month, more than 20 teams have gone through the knockout stage of the group stage. In the end, four teams stood out and advanced to the finals. After a fierce competition, the Puhang Sanju team won the championship, the Puhang sub team won the runner up, and the third place was jointly won by the Avengers Alliance and Qiyi Biology teams. Pujiang Town presented them with trophies, seasonal fruits and team incentive funds in the shape of "Xiezi", a mythical animal with local folk culture characteristics. After sweating profusely like rain, the team members applauded and encouraged each other, making plans to have a late night snack.

From the fierce battle in the evening to the darkness, an open outdoor field provides players with a refreshing and comfortable sports experience.

The first Pujiang version of the "Village BA" is open to people living and working in Pujiang Town to sign up. Among them are both local people born and raised here, as well as new Shanghainese who live here professionally. They gather and learn from each other because of the common hobby of basketball, enjoying the pleasure of summer sports.

The enthusiastic audience surrounded the basketball court on three levels inside and three layers outside.

Two hours before the start of the finals, residents came to the scene to support the elderly and children, shaking their fans and sitting shoulder to shoulder outside the white line of the new plastic basketball court. During the whole game, they held their breath and shouted one after another, and held up the magic animal IP "Xie Zhi" card to cheer the team. Surrounding the basketball court are local village officials and internet celebrities of all sizes, who live broadcast live commentary and present the game's grandeur to fans across the internet in real-time.

During the break of the competition, there is fun shooting and interaction with the audience. The winner can receive locally produced grapes or pears. Villagers can also communicate with their favorite players and express their love for them.

The top three will come on stage to receive the award.

Li Yao, born in 1990, is known as the "Little Li Flying Knife" on the court, with excellent physical strength and skills. On that day, it happened to be his daughter's fourth birthday. He set up the birthday atmosphere early and took leave with his wife and daughter to participate in the competition. He is from Tieling, Liaoning. He graduated from Shenyang University of Technology in 2012 and later found employment in Shanghai. After buying a house in 2018, he settled down through "household transfer" and claimed to be a true Pujiang native.

"Playing for a year is one year less. We are already in our thirties, and it is not easy for us to gather together. The brothers who have made friends on the court over the years have become good friends in life. We are grateful for basketball, it is basketball that brings us together and brings us more joy in life," said Li Yao.

Li Yao raised the runner up trophy high.

Sun Binggong, the secretary of Huibei Village, is a local and also a popular Tiktok blogger. He has received 1809 likes in the last two hours of live broadcast, and six new fans have given him "gifts". There are 3000 residents in Huibei Village, with 50% of them being local villagers and 50% being non local tenants. Sun Binggong, who returned from the military, enjoys sports and organizes interest teams such as basketball and badminton in the village. He said, "The 'Village BA' aims to bring happiness together, bringing together friends who love and love this activity in the Dapu River. Through the activity, it also links the enterprises and companies around us to our countryside and community through interaction. With many friends, our countryside is prosperous!"

Sun Binggong, the blogger and village secretary of Tiktok, broadcast live the game.

Similar to Sun Bingong, Xu Ren, who gave up his high paying job in the city and returned to work in Pujiang and is now the director of the Ruihe City Five Neighborhood Committee, served more than 40 members of the "JuBA" community and served as a team leader. They failed to register for the first competition, but were eager to start preparing for the next one.

At the end of the competition, the champion team Pu Hang Sanju won the "Ozan Award", which was won by "Xie Zhi". The team members applauded and hugged, kissed the cup, and smashed the watermelon with one punch to celebrate their victory.

When everyone was passionate about the competition, there was one person who was very calm. Wang Yina, the director of the Pujiang Town Cultural and Sports Center, along with relevant organizations such as the labor union and agricultural clothing, left a reflection on the shortcomings. After analysis, everyone believes that the biggest regret was that the organization was relatively loose at the beginning, and the registration mobilization did not cover a wider group of villagers. In the end, it was only through checking the applicant's identification information that it was found that there were not many villagers. In the future, they will "activate" more village level teams, innovate competition forms, and promote urban-rural exchanges. At the same time, through live streaming by internet celebrities, high-quality agricultural products and distinctive IP cultural and creative products in the village are disseminated, and the brand is established to drive the economy.

It is reported that there are 38 administrative villages in Pujiang Town, accounting for nearly one-third of the rural areas in Minhang. Inspired by the popularity of the "Village BA" in Taipan Village, Taijiang County, Qiandongnan, Guizhou, Pujiang Town has also explored hosting a locally distinctive "Village BA" basketball game to enrich the cultural and sports life of urban and rural residents, serving as an important lever for the town to improve the quality of rural revitalization work and the morale of villagers.

This basketball court has become a showcase for the image of Huizhong Village in foreign exchange. In the future, every village in Pujiang Town will have a high standard sports field.

The name "Huatian" for the Pujiang Town version of "Village BA" is not the name of an administrative village in Pujiang Town, but a summary of the scene of "blooming flowers in the fields" everywhere in the rural areas after the revitalization and rejuvenation of the town. We hope to attract more attention and spread this beautiful rural image.