Zhejiang officially welcome Kalu to China

 D’Tigress guard Ezinne Kalu was officially welcomed to the Women’s Chinese Basketball by her new club, Zhejiang Golden Bulls, on Wednesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The club took to their social media handle to express their delight at having her in their books in a statement that read, “Ezinne Kalu Welcome to WCBA Zhejiang chnhoops. @_thenigerianqueen Welcome to WCBA @nigeriabasketball @wcba_china #wcba #wnba #fiba #china #basketball.”

Kalu recently announced her arrival in China for a short WCBA stint.

The 32-year-old played last season at Atlanta Dream, recording 3.5 ppg, 1.0 apg, and 1.0 spg in two games for the WNBA outfit. She announced her arrival in the Asian country in a statement on her X handle, expressing gratitude to everyone that has supported her.

”Hi everyone! After a very long trip, I have finally made it to China safely! I can’t believe this will be my new home for the next few months. After I unpack and properly settle in, I will update you all on games, schedule, etc. Thank you all for always supporting me,” stated the talented player fondly called The Naija Queen.

Kalu, who was added to the Zhejiang roster on October 2 for the new 2024/25 season, played last season. The last season at Oxygen Roma Basket in the Italian Serie A1 league.

The Nigeria international, who had a sterling campaign with the D’Tigress at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, announced signing for the Chinese club on October 11 on the same social media platform, “I will be playing in Zheijang, China. Not too far from other local cities in China. I will be sure to reach out to you all.”

Kalu recently realised her dream of playing in the WNBA after Atlanta Dream on a seven-day hardship contract that allows teams to temporarily replace injured or ill players.

She took her official X account, expressing how happy she was to finally be granted a chance in the big league.

“Delayed but not mean denied,” tweeted the player, who recently found out that she is the first athlete from a historically black college to play in the WNBA in over 15 years.

Kalu has been a consistent standout player in the D’Tigress since 2016, winning the last three editions of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Championship.