History
The Beijing Ducks were initially formed as the Beijing Men's Basketball Team in 1956. That same year in October, the National Basketball League was held in Chongqing. Team Beijing, with only 7 players registered on their roster won the championship of that NBL edition. The team managed a third place finish in the same competition when the tournament was held in Hangzhou, 1961.
In 1988, the team was sponsored by Shougang Corporation, thus being renamed the Beijing Shougang. When the duck was confirmed as Beijing's mascot in 1995, the team participated in the inaugural season of the Chinese Basketball Association as the Beijing Shougang Ducks Basketball Team. On October 1977, the Shougang Corporation once again renamed the team Beijing Shougang Basketball Club.
The team had a formidable front court duo with Mengke Bateer debuting for Beijing at the age of 18 and Shan Tao, considered to be one of the top Chinese centers at that time. The two helped Beijing to a third place finish in the team's CBA debut.
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