Chinese fans turn out in force for Zhou Qi

Chinese hoops fans came out in force in the Hoops Capital on Saturday night to watch their national hero Zhou Qi. 

While the SEM Phoenix were behind all night and went down to the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings, 84-73, the Chinese fans at Qudos Bank Arena enjoyed every moment of Zhou Qi’s performance. 

There were over 1500 Chinese fans in the building with many never having seen a Kings’ game before. 

The Kings marketed this game heavily via Chinese social media and it was clear given the crowd reactions to his every move, many had come just to see the 216 cm Chinese sensation. 

He didn’t disappoint either. 

In 30 minutes, Zhou Qi had 17 points, 13 rebounds and some big blocks among his total of five for the game. 

When asked in the post-game conference about the Kings nullifying Qi, Kings coach Chase Buford acknowledged his performance. 

“S**t, I’m not sure we nullified him. How many blocks did he have? About nine?,” Buford joked. 

South East Melbourne coach Simon Mitchell also paid tribute to Zhou Qi after the game. 

“He’s a really good player and the more time he spends with us, the more repetitions in our offence, the more we learn how to find him, the better we will get,” Mitchell said. 

Hundreds of the Chinese fans stayed courtside well after the game just to watch Zhou Qi complete his warm down on court with the Phoenix.