CBA charting a new course

As part of the reforms, extending the season by a month will afford teams more television time, making the league more appealing to sponsors.

The schedule of the regular season will be six match days a week, from Tuesday to Sunday, with fewer games each day compared to the previous arrangement of a three-day week.

"I think it's a good idea that every team has more time to recover and travel in between rounds. And fans will have games to watch almost every day throughout a week," said Ding Wei, head coach of the Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons.

To improve officiating, the league has also followed the NBA's example by building its own replay center for video reviews of disputed calls.

Referees will be assigned randomly by computer while all game officials will be assessed after each round under a reward-and-punishment system.

Other major changes include increasing the number of playoff spots from the eight to 10, a new league of reserve teams, modeled after the NBA's G League (formerly the D-League), and a streamlined draft system.

Fang Shuo of the three-time league champion Beijing Shougang Ducks said he was impressed by the overhaul.

"It shows the league company has made some real changes toward professionalism. Each and every step the league has made is good for growing the market and taking our fan following to the next level," said the China international.

The central government's push for sports reform in recent years has been concurrent to boosting the nation's sports industry.

In response to a proposal submitted in 2014 by Yao, also a member of the country's top political advisory body, the State Council, China's cabinet issued a regulation urging the country's top sports governing body and its affiliated administrative centers to loosen their grip on the sports industry and to allow private investors more freedom to stage events.

Yao's reform plan has also earned enthusiastic approval in the corridors of power, with Vice-Premier Liu Yandong backing the initiative during a meeting with sports officials in April.

A country's prowess in ball games such as soccer and basketball reflects its status as a world sporting power, she stated, so the CBA's reforms fit perfectly with this quest.

The vice-premier also urged the CBA to continue China's improvement on the court in time for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, which will be staged in eight cities nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn