Coach Cesar Ruperez Garcia insists Shanxi is still "a long way" off becoming a championship team despite the Flame's excellent start to the season.
The Spaniard, who won three WCBA titles with the club from 2012-2015 as assistant coach, has returned for a second stint with the Taiyuan-based team, and results so far have been impressive. Saturday's 94-84 triumph over Zhejiang kept Shanxi perfect after four WCBA games, along with Beijing and Guangdong.
However, in an interview with Xinhua last week, Garcia cautioned that rediscovering Shanxi's glory days will not be straightforward.