Mcgrady-mania as Chinese Basketball Association season starts

BEIJING: Tracy McGrady will make one of the most hotly anticipated debuts in Chinese basketball history this weekend after a fevered build-up, in which he caused a nearriot at one of his sell-out appearances.

The hype surrounding McGrady, a former team-mate of Yao Ming, has sent excitement soaring for the start of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), which will feature three former NBA All Stars for the first time.

McGrady, 33, who played with Yao at the Houston Rockets during a 15-year NBA career, and fellow All Stars Stephon Marbury and Gilbert Arenas head a cohort of 28 ex-NBA players who have made a new start in China.

Their presence has helped persuade fans to ignore hefty price rises and snap up tickets for the 17-strong league, which precedes an eight- team championship play-off in February.

“McGrady will ensure that attendance in every arena throughout China will rise,” commented China’s leading hoops newspaper.

“McGrady is playing a huge role in raising the brand image and marketing power of the CBA.”

Marbury’s Beijing Ducks, the reigning champions, open the season against Yao- owned Shanghai Sharks on Saturday, while the Fujian Sturgeons will host McGrady’s Qingdao Eagles on Sunday, in a game which sold out weeks ago.

McGrady caused a sensation when he signed for Qingdao last month, selling out each of the club’s three pre- season exhibition matches against a team of American players.