Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. (Photo: VCG)
The CBA submitted its latest season resumption plans last week to higher authorities for approval. Besides the proposed restarting date of June 15, Tencent Sports obtained some exclusive information from its source about the latest plans, which are summarized in the following four ways:
The first stage of the regular season will be shortened from 18 to 15 days. The rate of three games per day will increase with the third game happening at noon.
Only an unprecedented event will keep the CBA from finishing its full schedule this season. The league will make sure that all of the rest of the 161 regular season games are played, even if the season has to return in July. The first stage of the playoffs among No. 5 to No. 12 teams will also take place but the fixtures may change based on when they will take place.
If the two teams in one of the games have the same number of foreign players, then they will follow this season's relative rules: each team can send two foreign players in one game and can choose at most two quarters to keep both of them on the court. If one of the teams has no foreign players, then the one that has them can only choose one quarter to send two foreign players to the court, just like its done in the games against the Bayi Rockets – a team that traditionally has no foreign players. The policy for the case of both teams having foreign players but not in the same number will need further discussion.
Once restarting plans are approved, the CBA will invite China's top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan and his medical team to study the situation and make precautions against the coronavirus.
According to Tencent Sports, the league already decided to arrange the first stage regular season games behind closed doors in two designated cities. There is still a chance of allowing the teams to play the second stage and the playoff games at home, but it will all depend on the development of the current situation.