Yao Ming: Unregistered Zhou Qi cannot play in CBA

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‍Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) made it clear on Saturday that the country's basketball player Zhou Qi cannot play for any team of CBA in the 2018-19 season because he was not pre-registered with the league.

Yao said this to answer a reporter's question at the press conference during the 2019 CBA All-Star Weekend in Qingdao, the capital city of east China's Shandong Province.

Reporter: "We know that Zhou Qi departed NBA quite a while ago and he has not found a team to play for so far. Since the Xinjiang Flying Tigers did not pre-register for him with CBA, will he still be able to play in CBA?"

Yao Ming (C), president of the Chinese Basketball Association, attends the 2019 CBA All-Star Weekend in Qingdao on January 12. /VCG Photo

Yao said, "Though our national team need our players in their best condition, it caused a real conflict between Zhou Qi's current condition and CBA rules. He was not pre-registered for CBA and thus, according to the current rules, cannot play in CBA. By contrast, Ding Yanyuhang was pre-registered and therefore he could play in CBA if he wants to."

Yao admitted that the Basketball Association was struggling with Zhou's issue as well and the rules may be improved in the future so similar needs can be dealt with in a more flexible way.

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In an interview with CCTV-5, Zhou Qi talked about the progress of seeking a new job in NBA.

Zhou was waived by the Houston Rockets in December 2018. Since then he continued to seek opportunities in the U.S. but did not hear much good news. He returned to China on January 3 and was spotted to meet Guo Shiqiang, head coach of CBA's defending champion, the Liaoning Flying Leopards.

Since then, rumors about Zhou's future, especially the possibility of him returning to CBA, started to hit the headline of many sports outlets. Though he was waived by the Rockets, Zhou is a real dominant player in CBA and his joining can make a team immediately one of the championship candidates.

Now that Yao confirmed that Zhou could not play in CBA this season, Zhou Qi could continue his communication with NBA teams and his regular training to prepare for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

(Video edited by Zhang Ruijun, Wang Zengzheng and Zhang Ning)