Wikipedia - Bay Area Dragons

The Bay Area Dragons were a professional basketball team in the East Asia Super League. Based in Hong Kong, the team was meant to represent the Greater China region.

Established in 2021, the team competed in the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup in the Philippines as a guest team and in the 2023 EASL Champions Week. They were disbanded in September 2023.

History

Formation

The Dragons were originally formed as the Bay Area Chun Yu Phoenixes, a franchise team for the East Asia Super League, representing Greater China. Hong Kong was made as the home venue of the Phoenixes. Both the Phoenixes and the P. League+ champions of Taiwan were designated by the EASL as Greater China's representatives.

The team was established under the agreement of the Hong Kong Basketball Association and Chun Yu Basketball Club. The Phoenixes are the only franchise team in the EASL, with other participating teams seeded from domestic leagues from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Former Chinese Basketball Association general manager Liu Quansheng was appointed as the team's first general manager.

Participation in the PBA

They entered the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association which started in September 2022 as a guest team. The team also changed their name to the "Bay Area Dragons" upon joining the PBA, to avoid confusion with the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters. In May 2022, former NBL coach and incumbent Australia Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian was announced as the team's first head coach.

The Bay Area Dragons reached the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, becoming the fourth guest team to reach the last stage of a PBA competition. They could only field one of their two foreign players or import at a time in selected games. However, they would lose to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 4–3.

EASL Champions Week

The Dragons took part in the 2023 EASL Champions Week tournament where they finished third.

Planned PBA return and 2023–24 EASL participation

They are set to return in the Commissioner's Cup of the 2023–24 PBA season. However, they would be allowed to field one import for the whole conference. They underwent a rebrand and renamed themselves as the Chun Yu Bay Area Dragons. They were set to return to Hong Kong with their PBA games planned to be held there. The team which were also set to take part in the 2023–24 EASL season would sign five new players and retain eight players.

Disbandment

The Dragons' participation in the PBA and EASL was effectively cancelled after the EASL announced the Dragons's disbandment on 1 September 2023 reportedly due to financial reasons. The EASL mentions "conflict of interest" for managing a team and organizing the league at the same time, as the official reason for dissolving the club.

Los Bay Area Dragons son un equipo de baloncesto profesional con sede en Hong Kong que compite en la Asociación China de Baloncesto (CBA). El equipo fue fundado en 2017 y es propiedad del Grupo Bay Area, una empresa de desarrollo inmobiliario con sede en Hong Kong. Los Dragons juegan sus partidos en casa en el Arena de Hong Kong, un estadio con capacidad para 12.500 espectadores.

El entrenador de los Bay Area Dragons es Brian Goorjian, un entrenador australiano que anteriormente entrenó a los Perth Wildcats de la Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (NBL) de Australia. El equipo está liderado por los jugadores de la NBA Andrew Nicholson y Glen Davis, así como por el ex jugador de la CBA Quincy Miller.

Los Bay Area Dragons son un equipo joven y ambicioso que busca hacer un impacto en la CBA. El equipo tuvo un récord de 22-28 en su temporada inaugural en 2017-18, lo que les valió un puesto en los playoffs. Los Dragons fueron eliminados en la primera ronda de los playoffs por los Liaoning Flying Leopards.

En la temporada 2018-19, los Bay Area Dragons mejoraron su récord a 30-20, lo que les valió el tercer lugar en la clasificación de la Conferencia Sur. Los Dragons llegaron a las semifinales de los playoffs, donde fueron derrotados por los Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Los Bay Area Dragons son un equipo en ascenso en la CBA. El equipo tiene una base sólida de jugadores jóvenes y talentosos, y está bien dirigido por Brian Goorjian. Los Dragons tienen el potencial de ser un equipo contendiente al campeonato en los próximos años.