Two of America's biggest academic powerhouses tipped off the new NCAA basketball season, when Shanghai once again played host to the Pac-12 China Game. The University of California - Berkeley and Yale University would provide a reminder that their schools excel in sports, as well as scholarship, with this contest capping off an all-around educational experience for the participating teams. Damion Jones has the story.

There is no need to grade on a curve, when scholastic standouts from the University of California's flagship Berkeley campus, get together with their counterparts from Yale. And one of the main themes going into the fourth annual Pac-12 China Game, was a reiteration that this venture starts with, but extends far beyond, basketball.

JAMIE ZANINOVICH PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER "The Pac-12 Global Initiative is first and foremost about the power of sports to foster positive cultural exchange and unique educational experiences for our student-athletes, and I think that once again, we've achieved that this week."

CHEN YUE PAC-12 CHINA GAME AMBASSADOR "The two teams came to Shanghai, and they play great basketball, and to show this game to all the young teenagers in China, so the teenagers can really feel a different culture, different basketball, as well as education in America, so that could be really meaningful to their entire life."

This contest culminates a week of academic interaction in Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Shanghai aimed at continuing efforts by the Pac-12, Federation of University Sports of China, and Alibaba, to build bridges between the host country, and the USA. But the action on the court gets off to a slow start, before the designated visitors, initiate an explosive run.

DAMION JONESSHANGHAI "Thanks to Yale using a burst of basketball brilliance to grab the lead at halftime, Cal would be left looking to carve out a cerebral comeback, as both teams try to grab a hardfought win with this game heading down the stretch at the Baoshan Arena."

Despite the Golden Bears spirited attempts to keep the score close, the Ivy League's Bulldogs maintain control in the second half, en route to a 76-59 outcome that makes them the first invited guests to earn a victory over the Pac-12's representatives. But the impression this trip will leave on these two squads, encompasses much more, than the result on the floor.

BLAKE REYNOLDSYALE UNIVERSITY CAPTAIN "Well I think it's a really, really, big opportunity for our team to get to come over here, and get to play in such a high-level game, high-stakes game, and a totally different atmosphere that we're not used to, and just get to have some exposure, you know, in front of in a different place. I think it's gonna be really good for us going forward."

ANDRE KELLY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA FORWARD "For me the biggest thing about it probably was hanging out with my teammates. I'd never been out of the country before, so being out of the country for the first time, my teammates, having fun, I made a lot of memories that I'll have for the rest of my life, you know and China's like a beautiful place. I saw a lot of nice things like the temples, and just some things that will stick with me for the rest of my life, so that was good."

And in 2019, Arizona State and Colorado will be able to realize similar memories, as next year's game features two Pac-12 members tipping off the season against each other in China, for the first time ever. DJ, CGTN, Shanghai.