Bayi Rockets
Encyclopedia
Bayi Shuanglu Rockets (八一双鹿电池火箭) or Bayi Rockets or Bayi Army Rockets or Bayi Shuanglu are a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team in the South Division of the Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Basketball Association
The Chinese Basketball Association , often abbreviated to the CBA, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in China.The league is commonly known as the CBA, and this acronym is often used even in Chinese...

, based in Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...

, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

. Bayi ("eight one") means "August First", so the English name of the team could be translated as August First Rockets, but this name is very rarely seen in English-language Chinese media. They are occasionally called Bayi Deers because of their corporate sponsorship by the Pairdeer brand of batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

, whose logo is a pair of deer (双鹿, or shuanglu).

Its founding team members served in the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

 (PLA). The "Bayi
Bayi
-Chinese:*Bāyī , referring to the anniversary of the Nanchang Uprising, which is considered as the founding of the People's Liberation Army, and thus a common name used by entities in the People's Republic of China:...

" in their name represents the anniversary of the founding of the PLA. There are also other army teams with the Bayi name in other sports leagues, such as Bayi China Telecom in the WCBA
Women's Chinese Basketball Association
The Women's Chinese Basketball Association is a women's basketball league in the People's Republic of China. It is commonly known as the WCBA, and this name is often used even in Chinese.The WCBA was established in 2002...

, the men's soccer team Bayi Zhengbang, and the women's soccer team Bayi Xiangtan.

The Bayi Rockets have a long history that predates the currently-existing CBA. When they entered the CBA in its inaugural season in 1995–1996, they had already won 34 national titles. The Bayi Rockets dominated the CBA in its earlier years, winning no less than seven championships in the first eight years of the CBA, including the first six CBA championships in a row, and the first five of those without losing a single playoff match. They also had a home-game unbeaten streak of 65 games that ended in 2002. In recent years, however, other CBA teams have become more competitive, and Bayi has won only one championship in the last four seasons (as of the end of the 2004–2005 season).

In the 2004–2005 season, the Bayi Rockets finished in third place in the South Division and defeated the Beijing Ducks
Beijing Ducks
Beijing Jinyu Ducks or Beijing Ducks or Beijing Jinyu is a basketball team in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Beijing. They were formerly known as the Beijing Shougang Ducks or Beijing Shougang; the name change was likely due to a change of corporate sponsorship...

 in the quarter-finals, but lost in the semi-finals to the Guangdong Southern Tigers
Guangdong Southern Tigers
Guangdong Winnerway Southern Tigers or Guangdong Southern Tigers or Guangdong Winnerway is a basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway Group. The team is one of the best-performing teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, or CBA...

, the defending champions. This was the first time since the founding of the CBA in 1995 that the Bayi Rockets did not make the finals.

In the 2005–2006 season, the Bayi Rockets made the finals but lost to the Guangdong Southern Tigers
Guangdong Southern Tigers
Guangdong Winnerway Southern Tigers or Guangdong Southern Tigers or Guangdong Winnerway is a basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway Group. The team is one of the best-performing teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, or CBA...

.

In 2011 they were involved in a brawl with the Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Various breeds of dogs have been used by the sports teams as mascots since the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers like Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya" were used at football games in the 1920s, as was a Great Dane in the...

 while the Hoyas were on their China Tour. The second game of the tour versus the Bayi Rockets, was very physical. At the time of the brawl, the Rockets had shot 57 free throws to Georgetown's 15, which seemed to have fueled the fire. During the brawl, players from both teams engaged in a full fight throwing punches, kicks, and even chairs. As the Hoyas attempted to leave the court, they were bombarded with garbage and debris from fans, even forcing a Georgetown staff member to fall to the floor after being hit in the head. The Rockets were strongly condemned by microbloggers in China, who posted quotes such as: “Aren’t Bayi players soldiers? Why would they beat up a bunch of college students?”, “What a loss of face for the people’s army!”, “The Bayi team sure is lousy at basketball and should try some other sport — like boxing.”

Notable former players

Cheng-Yu Chang 1 season: '09-'10 Chen Ke 13 seasons: '97-'10 Fan Bin
Fan Bin
Fan Bin is a retired Chinese Olympic gymnast. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, winning a silver medal in the team competition, and a bronze medal in horizontal bar....

 7 seasons: '97-'04 Mu Tiezhu
Mu Tiezhu
Mu Tiezhu ; 1949 - September 14, 2008) was a prominent Chinese basketball player and coach. At a height of 7 feet 5.75 inches , he was one of the largest and tallest players in China .- Biography :...


External links

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