Start again next year! From grassroots legend to Zhejiang BA coach, Liu Zihao s passion for basketball

Trend News Client Reporter Wang Pingqin

In the past two days, the Zhejiang BA City Championship has been in full swing, and in Jiande, the 2025 Zhejiang Jiande "Hengtai City Cup" National Youth Basketball Invitational Tournament is also in full swing.

Liu Zihao, the head coach of the former Zhejiang BA Hangzhou qualifiers, is busy with this game. "Like Zhejiang BA, our game is also to let everyone feel the charm of basketball."

After a busy day, Liu Zihao will still turn on the live broadcast to watch Zhejiang BA games. During the qualifiers, Xiaoshan team broke through with the first place in the eastern region, but unfortunately failed to qualify. Players Li Ang, Li Zhexuan and others were selected to the Hangzhou team and continued to fight on the field. Fading away as a coach, Liu Zihao's own basketball story is like a chapter of struggle full of passion and passion, constantly writing wonderful things on the basketball court.

From the teenager of Jiande to the legend of "King of Ball"

Liu Zihao's basketball story began in the small town of Jiande, and he had been obsessed with basketball since he was a child. At the age of 9, he was selected to be admitted to the Chen Jinglun Sports School in Hangzhou and has since embarked on the road of professional training.

In 2003, Liu Zihao made a bold decision and resolutely went from Hangzhou to Liaoning to study basketball. He was selected into the National Youth Team in 2006. He is 1.83 meters tall and does not have an advantage among basketball players, but his unyielding spirit has made him famous in the national basketball world with his hard training day after day.

As the captain and main guard of the men's basketball team of Northeast Normal University in the CUBS Super League, he led the team to win the 2012-13 CUBS Super League championship and successfully defended the title in the 2013-14 season. In 2013, he participated in the men's basketball competition in Kazan, Russia. At that time, he was like a flash of lightning on the field, dribbling, breaking through and passing the ball were full of aura. After graduating from

, Liu Zihao returned to Hangzhou and has been playing for Zhejiang Commercial Bank, continuing his basketball career.

In 2017, the China-US High-Limit Basketball Challenge landed on Jiande. As the only local Jiande player, Liu Zihao took on the heavy responsibility and led the Chinese high-limit basketball champion Zhejiang team to fight against the Florida Sharks led by former NBA Rockets player Luther Heimer.

The game was ups and downs, and the audience was worried. At the critical moment, Liu Zihao led his teammates to launch a Jedi counterattack and finally completed a shocking reversal. Speaking of these two games, Jiande's basketball fans still talked about it with relish, and everyone affectionately called Liu Zihao "Jiande Pride" and "Jiande Football King". In the past ten years, Jiande has produced two sports celebrities. The women's football team is Wu Haiyan of the national team and the men's basketball team is Liu Zihao.

Ten years of hard work in hometown basketball

Although he left Jiande since childhood, Liu Zihao has always been very concerned about basketball in his hometown. "When I was in college, I was already considering this issue. I like basketball myself and hope that basketball in my hometown can develop, more people play, and more games to let everyone enjoy basketball."

While he had his own career in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, he also devoted himself to the development of basketball in his hometown. Since 2015, Liu Zihao has established a basketball training camp in Jiande. Speaking of this training camp, Liu Zihao's initial idea was very simple, "When the training camp was originally set up, there were only about twenty children. I and a few friends who love basketball, taught some children, cultivated their interest in basketball, helped them grow taller, and also exercised their willpower."

Now, the training camp has been established for ten years, and the children who once sweated in the training camp have gradually grown up. "Many people also participated in the Zhejiang BA. The members of Jiande team Ye Zirui and Xu Zhe all came out of my training camp." Liu Zihao said this with pride on his face.

The coach of Zhejiang BA Xiaoshan team on the front line, In early July 2025, Liu Zihao received a new challenge - the coach of Zhejiang BA League Xiaoshan team. Facing his debut on July 12, he has only 7 days left to build the team. "The team was officially established on July 5th and its debut on July 12th, and everyone's training time was actually only one week." Liu Zihao admitted that the challenge was huge.

This special team consists of amateur players: students, basketball coaches, engineers, teachers, and has a huge span of age and career. Training can only be performed on nights after get off work, and everyone will have to return to their respective jobs after the end.

The change in the identity of a player to a coach did not stump Liu Zihao. He was familiar with the playing characteristics of each player and tailored the tactics according to the characteristics of the players. On July 12, the first match between Qiantang team and on July 13, the Xiaoshan team won consecutive victories. As a former professional player, he is proficient in technical details; as the helm of grassroots teams, he knows better how to stimulate the potential of ordinary players.

Liu Zihao, 38, is particularly busy this summer. During the day, he was an employee of Zhejiang Commercial Bank. He wore a robe during work and served as the main point guard. He represented Zhejiang Commercial Bank in the competition and sweated on the field. When night fell, he rushed to the training ground of Xiaoshan team, changed his identity and took the coaching stick, and guided the team members to train. Although he was arranged every day and was very tired, he enjoyed it.

The change in the identity of a player to a coach did not stump Liu Zihao. With his years of playing experience, he quickly became familiar with the playing characteristics of each player and tailored the tactics according to the characteristics of the players. On July 12, the first match between Qiantang team and on July 13, Xiaoshan team won consecutive victories and achieved a good start. As a former professional player, he is proficient in various technical details and can always accurately point out the players' problems and give suggestions for improvement in training. As the helm of grassroots teams, he knows better how to stimulate the potential of ordinary players..

Although Xiaoshan team lost to the village BA's powerful Fuyang team and regretted not being able to enter the city championship, Liu Zihao was very pleased to see the players compete on the court: "Our players have no problem with their strength, but unfortunately they did not fully perform on the court. I have always been very regretful, but if there is a chance, we will definitely start over next year!"

Love is not restricted. Liu Zihao said, "I am 38 years old this year and am still participating in the competition. In our Zhejiang Business Team, we are still playing in our 40s. Seeing the players on the court, they are still very young. Zhejiang BA has given grassroots players a different stage. Here, amateur players can also show their skills on the court, chase their basketball dreams, and feel the happiness and passion brought by basketball."

(Picture provided by the interviewee)