CHN - Chinese great Mu passes away

BEIJING (FIBA) - China have lost one of the great players in their basketball history following the death of giant center Mu Tiezhu.

Mu has died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

The 2.28m center, who joined Bayi in 1973 and started his international career in 1977, was named the "No.1 center in Asia".

Mu, who once scored 80 points in a game, retired in 1987.

He did not leave the limelight, though.

After retiring as a player, Mu coached the Bayi team and also appeared in comedy movies "The Silly Manager", "Dark Corridor" and "Overnight Singing Star".

Hu Jiashi, the vice deputy of the Chinese Basketball Administrative Center, said: "Mu Tiezhu was a very famous player in Chinese basketball history. He was the key player that led Chinese men's basketball to its peak. At the end of the seventies to the eighties, he made a huge contribution to the national team."

Yao Ming, the star of the current China team, said of Mu: "I had some contact with him while I trained with under-18 national team. I looked up to him."

Mu died on Sunday in Beijing

FIBA