Bayi bounces out of CBA
End of an era as once- glorious military team disbands after 25 years of service
Chinese basketball fans are mourning the end of an era after the People’s Liberation Army confirmed the withdrawal of its men’s and women’s squads from the country’s top professional leagues.
After an embarrassing no- show for its season opener on Sunday against the Beijing Ducks, the Bayi Rockets, the CBA’s only army- owned team, were officially disbanded after 25 years of service on Tuesday.
The Military Sports Training Center with the Central Military Commission’s Training Management Department sent a letter to the CBA on Monday to confirm that the Rockets and its WCBA equivalent, the Bayi Kylin, will no longer compete in the league system.
“The men’s and women’s Bayi teams have achieved excellent results and have kept feeding top- level players to the national teams since their establishment,” said a CBA statement on Tuesday, two days after the Rockets failed to show up for a 2020- 21 regular- season game against the Ducks in Zhuji, Zhejiang province.
“The Bayi program has made an indelible contribution to the development of Chinese basketball, deserving the highest respect. Hopefully, the Bayi spirit will continue inspiring everyone involved in the game to stay true to the mission and forge ahead.”
Established in the 1950s by the PLA, the Rockets was a founding team in the CBA’s debut campaign in 1995. They won eight league titles, including six in a row from 19962001. The women’s team has claimed the WCBA championship five times since 2001 to become the league’s most decorated club.
Bayi, or Aug 1, which refers to the day the PLA was founded in 1927, at one time regularly churned out stars for China’s national program, with former Team China head coach Li Nan, prolific scorer Liu Yudong and center Wang Zhizhi, who in 2001 became the first Chinese to play in the NBA, all developed in the rigorous military sports training system.
Tuesday’s news triggered an outpouring of heartfelt reminiscences from fans, reporters and ex- players as they fondly recalled the army team’s glorious past.
“It’s pretty sad to learn about the news that Bayi has withdrawn for real,” Du Feng, head coach of defending CBA champion the Guangdong Southern Tigers, said after a 134- 126 win over the Shenzhen Aviators on Tuesday.
Du was a formidable member of the Southern Tigers when the Cantonese club beat Bayi in the 2003- 04 CBA Finals to claim the first of their 10 league titles and herald the emergence of a new league power.
“When I came out of Xinjiang to seek a future for my basketball career, Bayi was my first choice even though I ended up with Guangdong back in the day,” said Du, a native of Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi.
“Bayi has left so many wonderful memories and provided a great boost for Chinese basketball over the years. Their spirit shall never die.”
After winning the last of its eight league titles in 2007, the Bayi team went into decline, hamstrung by the army’s no- foreigner policy and left behind as the rest of the CBA’s franchises leveled up by acquiring bigname ex- NBA imports.
Mismatched against foreign- loaded opponents on the floor and outspent by private owners in investment on salary and facilities, the Rockets saw their once- enviable domestic talent system collapse. Young prospects were drawn to pro clubs’ youth teams, lured by greater financial rewards and a career path free of the army’s restrictions.
All Bayi players were required to enlist in the army after being officially signed, making their potential transfers to other clubs difficult due to complicated release formalities.
After the retirement of the golden generation of Wang, Li and Liu, Bayi has missed the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons since 2012.
Sunday’s no- show against the Ducks, officially recorded as a 0- 20 loss for Bayi, was an abject way to end things.
“The team that once intimidated the league has been dismissed ... they will no longer appear in a game. My heart hurt when I heard the news,” Jiao Jian, a former Ducks’ forward and national team player, wrote on Weibo.
Apart from Bayi’s recent lackluster performances, the PLA’s resolve to restructure its entire sports training program in favor of combat- focused activities, such as military and aeronautical pentathlons, as well as management and funding reforms, were considered by observers as more profound reasons for the decision.
In 2018, the PLA restructured the Bayi Sports Work Brigade, which used to manage 22 sports teams, into the military sports training center, now directly overseen by the Central Military Commission.
“The decision has been made, yet the arrangements for Bayi’s players deserve more attention. I hope they can be released as soon as possible to sign up professional deals with other clubs to continue their careers,” said Su Qun, chief editor of Basketball Pioneer newspaper.