Bayi edges off Dongguan to advance into CBA playoffs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-15 09:45

BEIJING - Bayi Fubang took the full advantage of the loss of the Shandong Gold, advancing into the playoffs after beating the Dongguan Marco Polo 110-102 on Sunday in the final round of the regular season of the 2009-2010 Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA).

Bayi edges off Dongguan to advance into CBA playoffs

Wang Zhizhi (R) of Bayi Fubang drives to the basket during the game on March 14, 2010. [Photo/Souhu.com]

Shandong lost to the Fujian SBS 118-110, their six losses in the last seven matches, and finished ninth by 14-18, one game behind the eighth Bayi (15-17).

Bayi, which needed a win and a loss from Shandong, avoided to be excluded from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

They will face the defending champions Guangdong Hongyuan (30-2), which beat the Shanghai Sharks 114-104.

Wang Zhizhi had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Xu Zhonghao added 31 points and six rebounds while Delehei chipping in 26 points for Bayi.

The military team kept on attacking throughout the game as they shot 40-out-of-68 in the field, compared to Dongguan's 29-out-of-48.

They led in most of the game and put the game beyond doubt when they led 15 points in the fourth quarter when Dongguan finally had two overseas players on the court.

Meanwhile, Shandong's last-quarter surge-up was not good enough to make up a 17-point deficit of the third quarter though Andre Emmett and Stromile Swift were combined of 60 points.

A 8-0 run down the stretch closed it on 103-100 in the final minute, but Fujian scored the next five points to call the game.

Top teams cruised in the final round as the second-placed Xinjiang Guanghui crushed Tianjin Ronggang 121-99, while the Zhejiang Guangsha defeated the Jiangsu Dragons 115-95.

Xinjiang will face Fujian, Guangsha will take on Jiangsu, while the Sharks will meet the Liaoning Panpan, which beat the Beijing Ducks 103-87, in the first round of the playoffs on March 24.

The first-round and semi-final matches will be best-of-five series, while the final will be decided in seven games.

The league will take a ten-day break, during which the All-Star weekend will be held at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing on March 20-21.

In Sunday's other matches, Qingdao Double Stars beat Shanxi Zhongyu 120-110 while Zhejiang Chouzhou beat Jilin Northeast Tigers 115-110.