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Xinjiang Flying Tigers

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Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Xinjiang Flying Tigers logo
LeaguesCBA
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)
HistoryXinjiang Flying Tigers
(1999–present)
ArenaUrumqi Olympic Sports Center
Capacity12,000
LocationÜrümqi, Xinjiang, China
Team colorsSky Blue, White, Midnight Blue
     
Main sponsorGuanghui Group
PresidentHou Wei
Team managerGuo Jian
Head coachLiu Wei
Team captainAbdusalam Abdurixit
OwnershipSun Guangxin
Championships1 (2017)
Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Chinese新疆广汇飞虎
Hanyu PinyinXīnjiāng Guǎnghuì Fēihǔ
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīnjiāng Guǎnghuì Fēihǔ
Wade–GilesHsin1chiang1 Kuang3hui4 Fei1hu3
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationSyin1 jyang1 Gwang3 hwei4 Fei1 hu3
JyutpingSan1 goeng1 Jim2 wui6 Fei1 fu2

The Xinjiang Flying Tigers (Chinese: 新疆广汇飞虎) is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team plays its home games at the Urumqi Olympic Sports Center, which has a capacity for 12,000 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketball Association Division 2 in the 1999–2000 CBA season, advanced to Division 1A in the 2002–03 season, and had three consecutive Grand Finals appearances in the 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons. The Flying Tigers won their first Championship in the 2016–17 CBA season, defeating Guangdong Southern Tigers 4–0 in the finals.

History

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The Xinjiang Flying Tigers joined the Chinese Basketball Association's Division 2 ahead of the 1999–2000 CBA season, as the first step in the league's plans to expand into the country's western interior. The Flying Tigers won their Division 2 season undefeated and advanced to the Division 1B. Two years later, the Flying Tigers won the 2001–02 season of Division 1B and advanced to Division 1A.

In their first Division 1A season, the Flying Tigers managed to advance to the playoffs, but lost to Beijing Ducks in a 3–1 quarter-final series. After this season, they qualified for the playoffs for another three consecutive seasons, but was never able to advance beyond the first round. In the 2007–08 season, the Flying Tigers signed the former NBA player Mengke Bateer, who brought the team to the second place in regular season. However, a Flying Tigers player, Sou Song Cun, also known as Guan Xiuchang, was found to have a foreign nationality but registered as a domestic player. The league punished the Flying Tigers by treating every game that Sou Song Cun played as a loss for the Flying Tigers. As a result, the Flying Tigers dropped to eleventh place, and missed the playoffs.

After the disappointing season, head coach Jiang Xingquan promoted several young players from the youth team to the first team, including Shirelijan Muxtar and Kyranbek Makhan, who would go on to become the most iconic players of the franchise. Together with Bateer and Jiang, they created the first golden era of the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Bateer became the first player to win three consecutive CBA MVPs, and the team made it to three consecutive CBA Grand Finals. However, in each of the Grand Finals series, Xinjiang lost to the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

The Flying Tigers started its rebuild in the 2012–13 season. They reached the Grand Finals the next season with a relatively low-key roster, despite losing to Beijing Ducks 4–2. Before the 2014–15 season, Xinjiang signed Zhou Qi to build a team around him. Surrounding Zhou Qi, the Flying Tigers signed former NBA stars Andray Blatche and Jordan Crawford. However, Crawford left the team after a few games into the season for medical reasons and refused to return. Losing a key piece of the championship contending roster, the team struggled to find a replacement through the season and ended the season in ninth place, missing the playoffs. The next season, Xinjiang signed championship coach Li Qiuping and all-star forward Li Gen and lost to Sichuan Blue Whales 3–0 in the semi-finals.

In the 2016–17 season, the Flying Tigers signed Bulgarian guard Darius Adams. The star-filled roster of Andray Blatche, Darius Adams, Zhou Qi, Li Gen, Shirelijan Muxtar, and Kyranbek Makhan triumphed through the season, finishing in first place in the regular season. In the playoffs, Xinjiang defeated Shandong Kingston Lions 3–0 in the quarter-finals and Liaoning Flying Leopards 4–1 in the semi-finals. In the Grand Finals, the Flying Tigers defeated their long-time rival Guangdong Southern Tigers in a dominating 4–0 series to win the first ever championship in the franchise's history. Darius Adams won the FMVP award.

After winning the championship, Zhou Qi went to the NBA and joined the Houston Rockets. Losing the all-star center, Xinjiang finished the season with a 3–1 loss to Guangdong Southern Tigers in the quarter-finals. The next season, the team changed the head coach mid-season, signing another championship coach, the Xinjiang native Adiljan Suleyman. The team also changed the foreign players four times during the season, trying Al Jefferson, Nick Minnerath, Hamed Haddadi, and Darius Adams, and finally settled with Jarnell Stokes and Kay Felder at the start of the playoffs. The team reached the Grand Finals, where they lost to Guangdong Southern Tigers 4–0.

In March 2023, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers withdrew from the CBA in protest against a penalty that would have banned the club from signing new players for one year, following contract disputes between the club and Zhou Qi.[1] However, the decision was overturned two weeks later and the club returned back to the league.[2]

Players

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Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Xinjiang Flying Tigers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
PG 0 China Xierzhati Saimati 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
PT/F 1 China Liu Yiting 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
PG 3 United States Ashton Hagans 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
PT/F 4 China Yilifulati Monhetaner 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
PF 5 United States Dedric Lawson 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 114 kg (251 lb)
SF 6 China Yang Rui 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
C 9 China Wu Guanxi 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 111 kg (245 lb)
SG 10 China Zhao Rui 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
SF 11 China Qi Lin 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
C 13 China Li Yanzhe 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) 130 kg (287 lb)
SF 21 China Guo Yuzhang 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 88 kg (194 lb)
PF 22 China Zhu Xuhang 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 95 kg (209 lb)
PF 23 China Abdusalam Abdurixit (C) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
C 27 China Qu Xiaoyu 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 101 kg (223 lb)
PF 34 China Aizimaiti Tuxun 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 110 kg (243 lb)
PG 36 China Ge Haoran 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 80 kg (176 lb)
CG 77 United States QJ Peterson 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: December 1, 2024

Season-by-season record

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CBA season record
Season Regular season ranking Playoff finish Last series
2002–03 4th Quarter-finals Lost 1–3 against Beijing Ducks
2003–04 5th Quarter-finals Lost 1–2 against Jilin Northeast Tigers
2004–05 3rd (North) Quarter-finals Lost 0–2 against Jiangsu Dragons
2005–06 2nd (North) Quarter-finals Lost 0–3 against Jiangsu Dragons
2006–07 9th Did not qualify
2007–08 11th Did not qualify
2008–09 2nd Runners-up Lost 1–4 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2009–10 2nd Runners-up Lost 1–4 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2010–11 1st Runners-up Lost 2–4 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2011–12 4th Semi-finals Lost 0–3 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2012–13 4th Semi-finals Lost 0–3 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2013–14 2nd Runners-up Lost 2–4 against Beijing Ducks
2014–15 9th Did not qualify
2015–16 2nd Semi-finals Lost 0–3 against Sichuan Blue Whales
2016–17 1st Champions Won 4–0 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2017–18 6th Quarter-finals Lost 1–3 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2018–19 3rd Runners-up Lost 0–4 against Guangdong Southern Tigers
2019–20 2nd Semi-finals Lost 0–2 against Liaoning Flying Leopards
2020–21 4th Quarter-finals Lost against Shandong Heroes (one game only)
2021–22 14th Did not qualify
2022–23 17th Did not qualify
2023–24 2nd Runners-up Lost 0–4 against Liaoning Flying Leopards

Honours

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Continental competitions

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Champions: 2016
Runners-up: 2017

Domestic competitions

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Playoffs champions: 2016–17
Playoffs runners-up (6): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2023–24
Regular season champions (2): 2010–11, 2016–17
Regular season runners-up (7): 2005–06 (North), 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2023–24
Notes
  1. ^ Xinjiang represented China under the name "China Kashgar".

References

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Specific
  1. ^ "Xinjiang Flying Tigers withdraw from CBA". chinadaily.com.cn. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Chan, Mike (March 18, 2023). "Chinese Basketball Association: Xinjiang U-turn over decision to quit league, but still no sight of star Zhou Qi". South China Morning Post. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
General
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