Just before nightfall on Saturday in Mangshi Square, Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, Chinese amateur basketball player Li Yixin and American basketball player Steven Key II shook hands.

Several minutes earlier, Li and Key, representing their respective teams — the Lancang county team of Pu'er and Black Ops from the United States — completed an intense group stage match in last weekend's Yunnan 3x3 Super League Dehong stop, one of the events of 2025 Yunnan province border happy village sports carnival.

Key highlighted the sportsmanship of the Chinese players, describing their performances as impressive.

Li, meanwhile, noted that the American players displayed exceptional professionalism and solid fundamental skills, while also being very friendly and "even giving us some courtesy points".

He emphasized the valuable opportunity that the event provides to learn from such opponents.

The day before meeting Li, Key and his teammates played basketball with kids at the Jiexiang Primary School in Ruili, another city in Yunnan, where they were warmly welcomed.

Key was pleasantly surprised when he received candies from the children, noting that "the candies are some of the best I've ever had".

The same day, Key visited a village that straddles the China-Myanmar border. The village is called Yinjing on the Chinese side, and Mangxiu on the Myanmar side.