China - CBA
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CHINA - CBA 🇨🇳

Country: China
Location: Asia
Demography: 1.4 billion citizens (2020)
Spoken language: Chinese, Mandarin
Largest cities : Shanghai, Pékin, Canton, Shenzhen, Dongguan
Regular-season schedule: October to April

How does the Chinese Basketball Association work?

Since its inception in 1995, the Chinese Basketball Association has been considered the major league in China. The top 20 teams in the country compete with the goal of finishing in the top eight to qualify for the playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals are played to the best of five games and the final is played to the best of seven games.

The team that wins the championship is awarded the Mou Zuoyun Cup, named after a former Chinese national team player, born in 1913, who later became a coach and pioneer in the development of basketball in China. The most successful team in the Chinese league is the Guangdong Southern Tigers, which has won 11 titles and is on a three-game winning streak.

What is the particularity of the teams of this championship?

The full name of most Chinese Basketball Association teams consists of three parts. There is, in order, a geographical designation, a sponsor's name which can change very regularly and a nickname, like the name of an animal, which changes very rarely. For example, Beijing Jinyu Ducks is the full name of one of Beijing's teams, with the name of the city, the name of the sponsor ("Beijing Jinyu Group Co., Ltd.", a prominent construction materials conglomerate in China), and the name of an animal.