Players in action during the 2022-23 WCBA Finals Game 3 in Chengdu, China, March 12, 2023. /CFP
Players in action during the 2022-23 WCBA Finals Game 3 in Chengdu, China, March 12, 2023. /CFP
The 2023-24 season of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) kicks off on Tuesday, with the opening match set to take place between defending champion Sichuan Yuanda Merlot and Zhejiang Chouzhou Commercial Bank in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The regular season features 38 rounds of matches, with a window from January 1 to February 17 and the All-Star Weekend scheduled for the weekend of March 16 and 17, followed by the playoffs from March 19 to April 8 in a best-of-three fashion, and the finals series in a best-of-five format that is expected to end on April 21.
Players who could be listed on the national team's roster will have enough time during the window to train and compete in the Olympic qualifiers from February 8 to 11 in China.
Regarding the policy for registering foreign players, clubs ranked from 1st to 14th in the last season can have one foreign player with no restriction on playing time. Meanwhile, clubs ranked from 15th to 17th can have two, with a maximum of five appearances across the four quarters.
At the launch on Monday, referee representative Yu Yijing and athlete representative Han Xu made the sportsmanship pledge while the league revealed its new visuals themed "Shine on Court" to emphasize the spirit of the league: confidence, courage, vitality, initiative and beauty.