National Basketball League (China)

The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese.
NBL is the second-tier league to the professional Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
History.
Inaugural season.
The first regular season of the CBL began in April 2004. Eight teams advanced to the playoffs:
On 4 August 2004, Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls defeated Dongguan New Century Leopards to win the first ever CBL championship and were promoted to the CBA for the 2004–2005 season.