Guangzhou Dragons and Lions return to Celestial Body to welcome a good start [CBA League resumes home and away game system, Dragons and Lions beat Beijing Enterprises Men's Basketball at home]
Huang Wei, All Media Reporter of Guangzhou Daily
After waiting for 1138 days, the Guangzhou Dragons and Lions finally returned to their home stadium, Tianhe Stadium.
In the long-lost home court, the Long Lions played a wonderful performance. They defeated the visiting Beijing Enterprises Men's Basketball Team 101 to 87 in the 30th round of the CBA last night.
A good start, Long and Lions find the feeling
Cui Yongxi, a teenager from the Guangzhou Dragons and Lions, drew the most cheers in the Tianhe Stadium last night. He spared no effort in running, sprinting, and dunking on the field.
Less than halfway through the first quarter, he broke through directly from outside the three-point line, jumped up and dunked Beijing Enterprises' inside player Zou Yuchen, and the cheers of the fans were deafening.
In the whole game, Cui Yongxi contributed 18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
This young man who played CBA for the first time was not long ago selected for the national team lineup of Djordjevic as the coach and played in two world preliminaries.
Obviously, after the end of the national team tour, he has made rapid progress and his self-confidence has also been greatly improved, while the performance of another player selected for the national team, Jiao Boqiao, is more stable.
In this game, the Guangzhou Dragons and Lions did a good job of controlling the scene. Although the North Control team had good offensive power, they have been under the defense of the Guangzhou team and have not found their own rhythm.
At the end of the three quarters, the Guangzhou team had already led by 17 points 76 to 59, and naturally played relatively calmly in the last quarter.
"In this game, everyone shared the ball very patiently, and the ball was passed very well, which is why we won." Guangzhou team coach Guo Shiqiang said with a smile after the game.
Back home, nostalgia and excitement coexist
The last home game between the Guangzhou Dragons and Lions was on January 21, 2020, in the regular season with Shenzhen New Century. It has been 1,138 days since they returned home.
Although the game started at 7:30 p.m., before 6:00 p.m., fans lined up to enter the stadium. Many fans wore Guangzhou team jerseys and took photos outside the arena. Many fans also took selfies before the ticket gate.
Cheng Zhen, a fan who lives in Panyu, specially brought his children to watch the game this time. "Three years ago, the child was too young, but now he is 6 years old, and he can understand it." He said.
"It's been more than 3 years (from the last home game), it's too far away." Guangzhou team's home MC (rapper) Wu Lin said with emotion: "Nostalgia, excitement. Back to the game, this familiar feeling is really good Already." From the very first second of the game, Wu Lin tried her best to lead the fans to cheer for the team.
At halftime, reporters noticed that his lips were dry.
"I just want the team to hear the loudest cheers." Wu Lin said.
During the exciting moments of the game, the fans cheered together; when the team switched from offense to defense, all the fans shouted "defense";
To prepare for the home game, the Dragon Lions Club spent a lot of effort.
Chen Jing, President of Business Operations of the Long-Lions Basketball Club, introduced that the club's team has been preparing for the Tianhe Stadium since February 17, "including preparing the floor, arranging the basket racks, and making the venue meet the requirements of the league. It will be completed on February 23." I am very grateful to the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Guangzhou Sports Bureau and Tianhe Sports Center for their strong support. As the club's operating team, we are very excited to finally return to Tianhe Stadium after 3 years."
It is reported that the Guangzhou Dragon and Lions Club has arranged many links to give back to the fans, including formulating relatively affordable ticket prices. The tickets for yesterday's game were sold out early, which proves that the fans are very appreciative of the Guangzhou team's game.
Guangzhou team coach Guo Shiqiang said: "Our whole team is very excited to see so many fans. I hope everyone will come to the scene to cheer for us in the future."
On March 6, the Guangzhou team will continue to sit at home and face Nanjing Tongxi.
CBA round 30 yesterday's battle report
Tianjin 107:114 Jiangsu
Guangsha 93:90 Guangdong
"Guangzhou Daily" March 5, 2023, page A12