Beijing Ducks preparing for new season with eyes set on title contention

The new Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season will get underway on October 12.

The Beijing Ducks have made multiple changes to their playing roster and coaching staff, as the three-time champions seek their first title in ten seasons.

After being eliminated in the first round of last season's CBA Playoffs, the Ducks appointed former Chinese women's national team coach Xu Limin to rebuild the team for the new season. The 58-year-old beefed up the squad by recruiting American forward Richard Solomon, who has competed in the G-League, and joined his new side for their warm-up games in September.

Former Qingdao and Fujian guard Eugene German, and South Sudan international forward Noo-nee O-mot have also joined Beijing, with their signings to be officially announced later this week.

Chinese center Zhou Qi moved to the Ducks from Guangdong during the summer, with the 28-year-old former NBA player looking to help his new club return to title contention. He will make his pre-season debut in a pre-season game against Guangsha on Tuesday.

"I've known Ducks captain Zhai Xiaochuan for a long time, as we were roommates during some of China's international games. I also played with Fan Ziming when we were younger. I have known a lot of my teammates for some time, so it is easy to settle in and make adjustments," Zhou said.

"Me and Eugene talked but we mainly talk about our goals for the season. We've talked about our goal of winning the championship," Solomon said.

"It will not be an easy road. But we'll beat it together and we'll have each other's backs. We're going to fight and bring as much energy as we can to build a championship-winning environment," he added.