China

Wang restores Bayi's glory in CBA

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-30 09:26

Once again, Wang Zhizhi proved he is uncontested in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league.

The former Dallas Mavericks' forward averaged 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the Bayi Rockets to a 4-1 victory over Guangdong Hongyuan in the finals series of the 2006-07 season.

Bayi Fubang's Wang Zhizhi (2nd right) lifts the trophy of the 2006-2007 China Basketball Association (CBA) champion after the decider game against Guangdong Hongyuan at Guangdong's home court March 29, 2007. Bayi beat the defending champion 4-1. [Xinhua]

Six years ago in the 1999-2000 season, Wang led Bayi Rockets to its sixth consecutive CBA title after crushing the Shanghai Sharks 3-0, led by the current Houston Rockets' superstar Yao Ming.

The military official went to join the Mavericks in April, 2001, a month before the CBA finals. Yao's Sharks outran the Wang-absent Bayi in a 3-2 thrilling series for his first league title.

At that time, Wang left behind him a legend in the CBA as he won all the six finals when he was in the Bayi squad in a dominating way.

He rejoined the Bayi team after his contract with the Miami Heat expired in 2006, just to continue his legend in the CBA finals.

The defending champion Guangdong was seeking for its fourth straight title and the favorite before the finals. It lost three out of the first four matches when it led in every game but was overturned in the dying minutes.

Yi Jianlian, one of the top picks of the NBA Draft next June, failed to save the regular-season No. 1 team as it lost twice on the home court and three in row to surrender the trophy.

"Wang makes the difference of the Bayi team and the finals series is one of the best in the CBA history," said Li Yuanwei, director of the Chinese Basketball Administration Center.

The former Asian Best Basketball Player became the first Asian in NBA when he was selected in the second round by the Mavericks in 1999.

After a brief taste of the 2000-01 season playoffs with the Mavericks, Wang started his first whole NBA season in the 2001-02 season, and was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2002.

He never started in his two-season spell in the Clippers and one season in the Heat, and was waived by the Heat prior to the 2004-05 season.

The Chinese national team also excluded him because he ignored the call for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and preferred staying in the United States for a summer camp.

He was then described by many as a "traitor" and lost his place in the national team.

After a far-from-perfect NBA trip, Wang returned the call of the CBA last summer when he was 29 years old and came back to China for the first time in four years.

The Bayi team, who won only one league title in five seasons without Wang, finished second in the regular season in 2006-07 before it staged another typical Bayi's triumph in the championships face-off with Guangdong.

"This is a precious victory to me after so many things happened in the past five years. I'm happy I can do it again for the great team," Wang said.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the last target of the former Chinese No. 1 basketball player before he retires.

"I learned a lot from the past years. Now I just do what I can for the Bayi team. I'm no longer the protagonist of the tales. The whole team is the King of the game," Wang said.