As the referee announced the end of the Asian Games men's basketball final on Saturday, China's Team Red took back the gold medal after eight years and became the first country to bag all four basketball gold medals at the games.

It is traditional for fans of the winning side to cheer the name of the most valuable player, the MVP. But after the victory over Iran, the name most cited was not Zhou Qi, Ding Yanyuhang, or Zhao Rui, but Yao Ming, the Basketball Hall of Famer and modern icon of Chinese basketball.

The same thing happened earlier on Saturday when China's women won gold. After a difficult win over the ROK-DPRK united team, players of Team China tossed their head coach Xu Limin in the air with excitement while fans in the arena started to cheer "Toss Yao Ming! Toss Yao Ming." Considering Yao's height and weight, it was probably not a good idea.

He may not be the head coach, but Yao Ming is regarded as the biggest contributor to China's basketball success at the 2018 Asian Games. Here's why. 

Since he became the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, Yao has changed the old "recruitment" system into an "invitation" system to select players for Team China to make today's young generation feel more honored and more motivated to play for their country. Moreover, star players and promising young men are able to spend their time during the off-season on something more beneficial: for example, training in the US.

Yao separated the men's national team into Team Red and Team Blue with different players and coaches but both are sent to play competitive games. Though in the short term, this move has cut down Team China's strength, young players like Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, Zhao Rui and Fang Shuo finally have the chance to enter and play for the national team, contributing a lot to the future development of Chinese basketball.

Yao has increased the number of games in the CBA. As a former Houston Rockets NBA star, Yao knows how important it is for players to remain in the best condition through competing. Extending the schedule of CBA will not only help improve the quality of the league, but also allow the teams to give more opportunities to young players.

Yao has made the women's basketball team feel respected. Women's teams in soccer and basketball have not received the same attention as men's teams in China for a long time. Yao has been working to change that. On March 2, 2017, he awarded the trophy to the WCBA's winning team as chairman of the country's basketball governing body for the first time in history.

On July 18, 2017, Yao appeared in the arena to watch a warm-up game involving Team China before the FIBA Women's Asia Cup. Later in the same month, he watched the game between China and the Philippines at the tournament. On September 6, 2017, Yao awarded the trophy for the winning team of the adult group in women's basketball at the National Games of China.

At the 2018 Asian Games, Yao did not miss one game of Team China in women's basketball. By having a legend watch their games so often, Chinese girls can feel that they are being treated in a better way than previously.

Though Yao Ming retired as a basketball player in 2011, he is still playing an important role in Chinese basketball and has more to accomplish in the future. Obviously, both Chinese players and fans know that.

(Top picture: Yao Ming takes a photo with both the men's and women's basketball teams. /VCG Photo)