A photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows Guangdong Dongguan celebrating during the trophy ceremony after the 4th round game between Guangdong Dongguan and Xinjiang Guanghui at the 2018-2019 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) finals in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on May 3, 2019. Guangdong Dongguan won 103-98 and claimed the title with a total score of 4-0. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
CBA powerhouse Guangdong Southeast Tigers denied the pay cut rumor during the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese basketball league side Guangdong Southeast Tigers have yet to make a decision on salary cuts for players, head coach Du Feng told Xinhua on Monday.
There was rumor saying that the CBA powerhouse would cut in half of the salary of players including the team's star forward Yi Jianlian due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's not true," said Du.
"All clubs are facing financial pressure, including us, so the club decide to pay half of the salary on the first hand. When the situation gets better, the club will make plans to pay the rest part of the salary to the players," Du explained.
Du and his players are busy preparing for the possible restart of the 2019-2020 CBA season which has been halted since late January.
The defending champions were sitting top of the standings by winning 28 out of the first 30 regular season games. ■