Dai Zite, a 19-year-old standout, dominates the paint with his shot blocking and rebounding. He is the rebound king for Wenzhou. On the court, he plays with relentless intensity. Off the court, he is a gentle giant, beloved by his teammates and adored by fans. When his Rui’an squad couldn’t break out of the Wenzhou division in the ZJBA, a premier grassroots basketball tournament spanning the entire Zhejiang province, Dai blamed himself and wept on the sidelines. He later earned his spot on the Wenzhou City squad for the ensuing City Championship Stage. In his first matchup against Hangzhou City, even after being injured and carried to the locker room for treatment, he toughed it out, got patched up, and returned to the court to battle alongside his team.

This fearless, unbridled spirit belongs only to youth! The ZJBA courts shine brighter because of young competitors like him.

◎ Always Delivers When it Counts

Dai is still a student at Shaoxing Vocational and Technical College. His once simple college life has been dramatically transformed by the ZJBA. Over the past six months, he has been constantly shuttling between Shaoxing and Wenzhou, juggling classes and games. At just 19, he is showing a maturity and sense of responsibility well beyond his years.

On January 13 came Wenzhou’s first quarterfinal matchup against Yongkang. That morning, Dai was still in Shaoxing taking his final exam. That evening, he was in Wenzhou, in the starting five. That night, Wenzhou came out firing, and Dai threw down a monster dunk that electrified the arena. Right after the final buzzer, he rushed back overnight to Shaoxing because he had another exam the next day. After finishing that exam, he immediately headed to Yongkang for a road game, joining his squad to battle for their second quarterfinal victory.

Facing this packed schedule, Dai remained remarkably composed: get good sleep, eat well, and he’d bounce back the next day.

When Wenzhou entered the ZJBA City Championship Stage group play, Dai gained unwanted attention for his struggles at the free throw line. At one point, he shot just 1 for 10 from the line, leaving his coach visibly frustrated. After that, whenever there was downtime, the coach had him grinding through free throw drills and extra conditioning work. On the practice court, this 6’3” big man is remarkably humble and coachable, diligently following every instruction.