URUMQI, China, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) defending champions Xinjiang Guanghui announced on Wednesday that they have signed Brazilian center Augusto Lima to take the place of Andray Blatche.

Standing 2.08m tall and weighing 110kg, the 1991-born Brazilian center has previously played for basketball clubs in Spain, Lithuania and Turkey. In 2016, he won the championship of the basketball league of Spain (ACB).

Blatche has been criticized for his poor performance and negative attitude this season. He only averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in the five games he played, and had a negative impact on the team's defensive efforts.

Under the leadership of Darius Adams who had an average of 40.8 points and 8.6 assists, and with the strong performance of a host of domestic players like Li Gen, Xirelijiang and Kelanbaike, Xinjiang have played pretty well this season and won several tough games to rank the ninth after 23 rounds of games on the 20-team CBA standings.

In the 18 games played without the support of Blatche, the team's rebound performance has declined. This factor creates even more expectations for Lima as he joins the team's bench.

Lima is expected to make his debut on Friday when Xinjiang host Guangdong.