China come full circle after winning FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016

MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - Up until this year, the FIBA Asia Champions Cup had been ruled by teams from West Asia and the Gulf, but it seems all that is set to change thanks to China Kashgar's win  in Chenzhou-Hunan.

China Kashgar won the title at the expense of Lebanon’s Al Riyadi, 96-88. Naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche led the Chinese club with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Darius Adams ably supported the former NBA player with 19 points. They were able to overcome Al Riyadi’s Dewarick Spencer, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Spencer paced the Lebanese squad with 19 points of his own.

With that result, China completed a sweep of the Champions Cup, winning all seven of their games. They didn’t look too good entering the Final after nearly dropping their Quarter-Finals game against Qatar’s Al Rayyan and having to scramble to beat Iran’s Petrochimi in the Semi-Finals, but they saved their best game for last. Coach Li Qiuping’s wards picked the perfect time to come up with one of their finest performances, dealing Al Riyadi their first loss of the competition.

Aside from the obvious high of winning a championship, China Kashgar have been able to rewrite this history books so to speak, both for their country and for their club.

Let’s look at what this means for China. The East Asian powerhouse have not played in the Champions Cup since 1999, when they sent the Liaoning Hunters, who placed second behind Sagesse of Lebanon. They have also not won the title since 1998, when Beijing Hanwei defeated Regal of Hong Kong. This is the country’s first continental club championship in the new millennium, and if that’s any indication, then it stands to reason we’ll see China send their top clubs more regularly from now on. This is significant because, since 2002, only four countries have won the Champions Cup: Qatar, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. No East Asian professional squad have brought home the crown in 18 years, but this triumphant run by China should be a major turning point.

Now let’s see what it means for the club. China Kashgar are known as the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and they are one of the most hard-luck franchises in league history. Since entering the CBA in 2002, Xinjiang have made it to the League Final four times, but they have lost every single time. Just last season, Xinjiang finished second overall in the regular season, and they beat previous champions Beijing Ducks in the Quarter-Finals. Things looked up for the Flying Tigers until they were unceremoniously swept by the eventual champions Sichuan Blue Whales in the Semi-Finals. This win at the Asian level, however, is redemption of sorts for Xinjiang. They may not have won a CBA crown yet, but they’ve brought home the FIBA Asia Champions Cup to a league that has long been regarded one of the most competitive outside of the NBA. That’s an honor of which no other current CBA club can boast.

So, you see, this victory by China Kashgar is not a simple tournament win or just another addition to China’s glittering Asian basketball trophy case. It’s a landmark achievement, a volta even, for a country and a team that have long been absent from the Asian club scene. Indeed, it is a validation that China have come full circle.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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