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CBA’s Ducks apologise to fans for ‘letting Beijing down’
- Team fined US$9,200 for leaving court in protest at late refereeing call in loss to Shenzhen Aviators on Sunday
- ‘We must always shoulder the expectations of the city of Beijing and work tirelessly for it,’ says club statement
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The Beijing Ducks have apologised to fans, saying they had let the city down with their actions in their loss to the Shenzhen Aviators in the Chinese Basketball Association on Sunday.
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It was the team’s first game since Jeremy Lin confirmed that he would not be returning to the Ducks, where he spent last season, as previously reported by Chinese media. He signed for the NBA G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Saturday.
The CBA side took issue with a refereeing call with 1.7 seconds left on the clock, which the players contested with the referee and then left the court, delaying the game by 10 minutes.
Coach Xie Libin refused to comment on the incident in the post-match press conference and the Ducks posted a cryptic message to social media of a black screen captioned “!”, which was seen as further protest.
That led to a four-game ban for Xie for leading his players off and fines totalling 60,000 yuan for him, captain Zhai Xiaochuan and the team, while the club also needs to pay for damaging the water fountain in the team’s locker room.
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Jeremy Lin says he has realised his childhood dream in China
Jeremy Lin says he has realised his childhood dream in China
On Tuesday, the Ducks posted an apology to “fans and friends” on their official Weibo. The team were “dissatisfied with the penalty and acted uncomfortably”, it said.
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