The Chinese men's national basketball team played their last game in 2018 with a 20-point win against their Lebanese rival 72-52 on Sunday at the CBA International Sports & Cultural Center in Foshan City of south China's Guangdong Province. Though the game marks the end of Team China's journey this year, it was a new start for the arena.

After three years of construction, the arena finally met the world for its first basketball game on Sunday. With a total venue area of 38,900 square meters, it can hold a maximum of 15,000 spectators with 56 VIP boxes and 2,300 parking spots, all prepared to meet NBA standards.

As another NBA-class basketball arena in China and landmark building in Foshan, the Cultural Center isn't only able to hold international major sporting events for FIBA or the NBA, but also host top cultural events, performances and exhibitions. Locals call it "a star in south China."

The Cultural Center will not only be used as the home court of the Guangdong Southern Tigers, but also become one of the eight arenas for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. That explains why both the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and FIBA are paying so much attention to its construction.

Back in April, Yao Ming, chairman of the CBA, visited the construction site. Then in October, FIBA Sport and Competitions Senior Manager Ashley Green also came to the site. Cen Yongxiong, general manager of the company that runs the Cultural Center, has expressed pride at such visits by basketball barons.

"We have met different visiting groups sent by FIBA in less than two years. They used to worry whether the construction would be completed in time as promised. However, the progress they saw and the game (between China and Lebanon) made them very pleased with our work and amazed by our speed. Now FIBA will no longer worry about the arena, but think about how to arrange their game better at such a remarkable arena," said Cen to Tencent Sports.

Li Nan, head coach of Team China, spoke highly of the arena as well. "Back when I was a player, we did not have many opportunities to play in such great venues. I told my team that we have no excuse not to play well in an arena like this."