This weekend, the 2026 Guangdong City Basketball League (YueBA) kicks off! Divided by the Pearl River into East and West divisions, the tournament features 21 teams and 378 athletes. The first round comprises 10 matches: the opening match will be held at Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. on March 21st, where the home team Guangzhou will face Zhongshan; the remaining nine matches will be played simultaneously in multiple locations at 7:30 p.m. on March 22nd.

There are 10 teams in the West Division, and the five matchups in the first round are full of highlights: Yangjiang will host Zhuhai; Zhanjiang and Maoming will face off in the Western Guangdong Derby;and Yunfu, a strong team in the provincial league in recent years, will meet Zhaoqing, a side with a strong local identity. The match between Jiangmen and Foshan is also highly anticipated.

The East Division features 11 teams. Shanwei gets a first-round bye, leaving five matchups in the opening round.

Dongguan, the ten-time provincial league champion, will play an away game in Meizhou. Shenzhen will face off against last season's provincial league champion, Heyuan. In the Qingyuan versus Jieyang matchup, the performance of the star players is highly anticipated. The clash between Shantou and Shaoguan is a closely contested battle between two evenly matched sides. Chaozhou, meanwhile, will fight for its first win against Huizhou, a team known for its youthful energy.

“粤BA”首轮十场鏖战周末打响

这个周末，2026年“粤BA”火热开赛！本次赛事以珠江为界，划分为东西两大片区，共有21支队伍、378名运动员参赛。首轮将展开10场较量：3月21日19时30分，揭幕战将在广州天河体育馆上演，坐镇主场的广州队将迎来中山队的挑战；3月22日19时30分，首轮其余9场比赛将在多地同步打响。

西区共有10支队伍，首轮5组对阵看点十足：阳江队主场迎战珠海队，湛江队与茂名队上演“粤西德比”，近年来的省联赛强队云浮队碰上本土色彩鲜明的肇庆队。江门队与佛山队的对垒同样吸睛。

东区共有11支队伍，除汕尾队首轮轮空外，其他队伍形成5组较量。

省联赛“十冠王”东莞队赴梅州客场作战。深圳队与上赛季省联赛冠军得主河源队交锋。清远队与揭阳队的比拼，人气球员的表现值得期待。汕头队与韶关队的对战可谓“针尖对麦芒”。潮州队则与主打“青春风暴”的惠州队争夺首胜。

文丨记者 郝浩宇
翻译丨黄健新
审校丨肖凯欣