Breakout Performance! Yu Jiahao Drops 17 Points in Second Overseas Game but Falls Short in Nail-Biting One-Point Loss

On September 11 (Beijing time), Chinese men’s basketball national team center Yu Jiahao continued his overseas journey with a standout performance, pouring in 17 points in his second preseason outing. Despite his offensive explosion, Alega Cantabria fell in a heart-stopping overtime battle, narrowly losing 95–96 to Oviedo — their second straight preseason defeat.

At just 22 years old, Yu is already an established figure in Chinese basketball. This past summer, he helped lead Team China to its second-ever FIBA Asia Cup silver medal, stepping up alongside Hu Jinqiu to anchor the frontcourt in the absence of mainstays Zhou Qi and Yang Hansen.

After four seasons in the CBA, Yu signed a three-year deal with Spanish Liga ACB club Bilbao Basket, officially embarking on his overseas career. For his first year, he has been loaned to LEB Oro (Spanish second division) side Alega Cantabria to gain experience and adjust to European basketball.

In his debut preseason game, Yu logged 20 minutes and posted modest numbers — 7 points and 8 rebounds — shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 1-for-4 from the line, as Alega Cantabria fell 73–90 to Bilbao Basket, his parent club.

Just one game later, Yu showed clear signs of adaptation and confidence. Leveraging his height and interior presence, he delivered an efficient 17-point performance, demonstrating the offensive power he can bring to his team. Unfortunately, even with Yu’s breakout game, Alega Cantabria couldn’t close it out, suffering a heartbreaking one-point loss in overtime and starting the preseason 0-2.