Taipei, April 17 (CNA) Despite limited success, most Taiwanese basketball players who opted to play in China said they didn't regret the decision, which may have alienated them from local basketball but is symbolic and meaningful for their careers.
An all-time high of five players left their teams in the local professional Super Basketball League (SBL) last year to play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) . They said the CBA, a growing league of 17 teams, offers higher salaries and better competition.
Local players wouldn't have left if the basketball environment was better in Taiwan, said Lin Chih-chieh, formerly one of the most popular players in Taiwan and a national team regular who spent last season with the China's Zhejiang Lions.
Despite its spot as the second most popular sport after baseball, professional basketball in Taiwan is still said to lack the planning, organization and vision necessary for the game to develop.
In its seventh year, the average attendance at SBL games is under 1,000. Lacking sponsors and advertisers, the majority of team revenues comes from television broadcast fees. The league didn't allow foreign players until its fifth year and at one point considered a monthly salary maximum of NT$120,000 (US$3,826) per player so that teams could keep their budgets down.
Discontented with the current status and unknown future of the league, players started to look for a way out.
Playing in China was an easy and natural answer because of the common language and culture, as well as the fact the Chinese league blossomed in recent years as the country's economic power rose, Lin said. The CBA is now capable of hiring active National Basketball Association (NBA) players, such as former New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury.
And there are other Taiwanese players in China. Chen Hsin-an played for the Dongguan Leopards in Guangdong province and Yen Hsin-shu played for the Shanghai Sharks last season, and Hsu Hao-cheng and Lin Kwan-lun both joined Shanxi Zhongyu this year.
It was not the first time domestic basketball lost talent to China. Cheng Chih-lung was the first Taiwanese player in the CBA when he signed with the Shanghai Sharks in 1999, joining current Houston Rockets center Yao Ming in 1999. The Sina Lions became the first Taiwanese team to play in the Chinese league in 2002-2003.
While thousands of American players earn a living by playing overseas, it's unusual for foreign teams to show interest in Taiwanese players. Playing overseas is seen as proof of a local player's skill and talent.
Lin was reportedly paid US$15,000 monthly plus incentives -- about four times what he made in Taiwan. Chen Hsin-an signed a two-year contract for an annual salary of US$340,000, and even second-string player Lin Kuan-lun was signed for US$8,000 a month.
However, part of the Taiwanese players' "China Dream" was not what they had imagined. Although Lin played an important role in Zhejiang, cracking the starting lineup and averaging 11.7 points and four rebounds per game, as well as leading the team to the semifinal, none of the other four played more than 10 minutes per game.
It's disappointing to get big paychecks but sit on the bench, media quoted Chen as saying.
For Lin, he said the training and playing style in Taiwan and China are very different and that he had learned a lot. Most of all, he said, the facilities and treatment of players are much better in China. Every team hires a weightlifting coach, he said.
"You have to do everything yourself in Taiwan, " he said, adding that he will play in China again next season and encouraging aspiring Taiwanese players to do the same.
Lin said that players have to learn to take care of themselves because their careers are short and the local league is not going anywhere.
One staff member from a local team agreed that when it came to money, Taiwan just couldn't compete.
"Of course we would like to keep our players on the team, but the salary the Chinese league is offering is just crazy and we couldn't possibly match that, " said a team representative who declined to be identified.
"I really don't think these players help their careers or skills with such miserable playing time in the games, but they sure make a lot more money," he said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc