With Yi Jianlian leaving to play in the US and as the pressure
of the upcoming Beijing Olympics builds, Chinese Basketball
Association (CBA) officials expect to take a hit in revenues this
season.
The 2007-08 season, which starts on October 27 with an opening
showdown between Bayi and Guangdong, has spent the last 13 years
cultivating its Chinese fan base and turning out international
stars like Yi and Yao Ming.
But with the Olympics looming, officials have decided to shorten
the new season by about three months, compressing it into a
four-month schedule to give more time to the national team to
practice for the Olympics.
"What I care about most is the performance of our national team
at the Olympics," said CBA chief Li Yuanwei. "The league will give
way to the national team training camps next year and the
performance of national team players will be our top concern.
"We hope the professional league and national team will benefit
each other and make efforts to raise the level of Chinese
basketball together."
China's ballers will be looking to improve upon their showing at
the Sydney Games where they finished eighth overall, their best
finish ever. But China has fallen short of expectations recently as
the team won just four out of its last 17 games in three summer
tournaments - the NBA Summer League, the Stankovic Cup and the
European Tour.
Li said the upcoming CBA season will give the national team its
first chance to improve.
"The league will offer them a good opportunity to adjust or to
improve," he said. "I hope CBA will lend a hand to their final
preparation for the Games."
Despite 300 million local basketball fans, the CBA has yet to
fully reach its potential. The league has been criticized for its
poor-quality defense, boring schedule and shortage of home
stars.
The league canceled more than 100 matches last season to allow
the national team to prepare for the Asian Games, predictably
leading to a sharp decrease in ticket sales.
This year may attract even fewer fans due to the departure of
Yi, who was the No 6 pick in the NBA draft by Milwaukee Bucks and
was one of the CBA's most popular players. But there are still
plenty of exciting players.
Former NBA center Menk Bateer returns to the CBA after playing
for the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs
between 2001 and 2004. He didn't play much in the NBA, but he is
still considered one of the best centers in China and he should
give a boost to Xinjiang Guanghui, which looks to be one of this
season's elite clubs.
Bateer, 32, who took one year off after playing for the Beijing
Ducks in the 2005-06 season, signed a one-year contract with
Guanghui this summer reportedly worth 4.2 million RMB (US$
555,556).
"This is a great return for me, I am excited about my new start
here in the CBA," said Bateer. "I'm trying hard to get back the
touch I had some years ago but it will take some time. I see a lot
of new faces on my team and I am very happy to be back in the CBA
at the end of my career."
Joining Bateer on the comeback trail is four-time CBA Most
Valuable Player Liu Yudong. The veteran joined Fujian Xunxing after
a two-year retirement.
Li believes the returning legend will help fill the vacancy of
Yi's absence.
"I don't worry about losing fans," he said. "We have our own
legends coming back and I think this season will be an encouraging
one for everybody."
Along with the shortened schedule and a shortage of superstars,
the CBA has to deal with the challenge from NBA, which wooed fans
at the China Games last week.
At the China Games the NBA announced the establishment of NBA
China, which will be headed by Microsoft China's outgoing boss, Tim
Chen. It is seen as a first step towards an eventual NBA-managed
Chinese domestic league.
The Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks are also set to attract
lots of attention this NBA season, with an Yi-Yao showdown
scheduled for China's lunar New Year.
But the CBA boss takes an open attitude to its overseas
competitor.
"I am not concerned that fans will only watch NBA," said Li.
"CBA is open to all the cooperation from around the world, not only
from the United States, but also from European countries."
Currently the Swiss-based sports management group Infront has a
long-term agreement to run marketing operations for the CBA and is
in the second year of a three-year deal to market the China
national team.
(China Daily October 24, 2007)