Sydney Kings sign Bo Liu who becomes first Chinese-born player to sign with an NBL club
The Chinese player inks with the Australian team
The Sydney Kings have pulled off an historic deal, securing the services of 6’9 (207cm) forward Bo Liu, from China’s CBA team the Shenzen Leopards.
Bo becomes the first Chinese-born player to sign with an NBL club.
He will join the Kings for the 2016-17 season on contract as a Development Player, via a loan deal from Shenzen, negotiated by Managing Director Jeff Van Groningen.
“The Sydney Kings welcome Bo Liu to our organisation and we are truly excited to be part of such a significant partnership. Working with the Shenzen Leopards has been fantastic – basketball provides a unifying force between organisations and indeed nations. We cannot stress how grateful we are to Shenzen and the CBA that we can play a part in working with one of their young players. Bo is a terrific young man who will bring some great attributes to the Kings organisation”.
The Kings, utilising a recent NBL rule change that sees players born within the FIBA Asian zone considered non-restricted (as per Australian and New Zealand-born players), now have nine contracted NBL players and three contracted Development Players, including Liu, on their roster.
Bo Liu’s deal with the Kings is part of wider plans at the NBL level to engage enthusiastically and efficiently with China and its prestigious CBA league. China is home to more than 300 million registered basketball players and its passion for the game is well-chronicled.
Only last week, the NBL announced plans for its new pre-season competition, the Australian Basketball Challenge (ABC), to run in Brisbane from September 23rd to 26th. In an exciting development two CBA clubs – Zhejiang CB Golden Bulls and Tianjin Ronggang, will compete at the event, attended by all eight NBL clubs.
“The ABC’s integration of two CBA teams combined with the Kings’ signing of Bo Liu are strong examples of an exciting time in Australian basketball as our sport moves forward at a rapid rate”, Van Groningen added.
Kings’ Head Coach Andrew Gaze has spent time with Bo Liu over the last six months.
“He’s a high energy guy, runs the floor really well and is super aggressive on the defensive end. Having played for Brian Goorjian in China as well as working with Nik Popovic, both friends of ours at the club, we know Bo’s fundamentals are sound. He picks things up quickly and has a great work ethic. Bo is a quality young guy with a great sense of humour”.
Bo becomes the first Chinese-born player to sign with an NBL club.
He will join the Kings for the 2016-17 season on contract as a Development Player, via a loan deal from Shenzen, negotiated by Managing Director Jeff Van Groningen.
“The Sydney Kings welcome Bo Liu to our organisation and we are truly excited to be part of such a significant partnership. Working with the Shenzen Leopards has been fantastic – basketball provides a unifying force between organisations and indeed nations. We cannot stress how grateful we are to Shenzen and the CBA that we can play a part in working with one of their young players. Bo is a terrific young man who will bring some great attributes to the Kings organisation”.
The Kings, utilising a recent NBL rule change that sees players born within the FIBA Asian zone considered non-restricted (as per Australian and New Zealand-born players), now have nine contracted NBL players and three contracted Development Players, including Liu, on their roster.
Bo Liu’s deal with the Kings is part of wider plans at the NBL level to engage enthusiastically and efficiently with China and its prestigious CBA league. China is home to more than 300 million registered basketball players and its passion for the game is well-chronicled.
Only last week, the NBL announced plans for its new pre-season competition, the Australian Basketball Challenge (ABC), to run in Brisbane from September 23rd to 26th. In an exciting development two CBA clubs – Zhejiang CB Golden Bulls and Tianjin Ronggang, will compete at the event, attended by all eight NBL clubs.
“The ABC’s integration of two CBA teams combined with the Kings’ signing of Bo Liu are strong examples of an exciting time in Australian basketball as our sport moves forward at a rapid rate”, Van Groningen added.
Kings’ Head Coach Andrew Gaze has spent time with Bo Liu over the last six months.
“He’s a high energy guy, runs the floor really well and is super aggressive on the defensive end. Having played for Brian Goorjian in China as well as working with Nik Popovic, both friends of ours at the club, we know Bo’s fundamentals are sound. He picks things up quickly and has a great work ethic. Bo is a quality young guy with a great sense of humour”.
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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