Men's basketball: Jiangsu whitewash Hubei to enter semis

2009-10-27 19:58 BJT

Zhang Kai of Hubei opened the match with 2 points. Yi Li of Jiangsu responded with a three pointer. Wasn't much between the two teams in the first quarter, Tang Zhendong made a throw to make it 25-22.

Hu Xuefeng and Yang Li combined well for a layup to end the first quarter 30-24.  Jiangsu forward Meng Da burst onto the scene in the second quarter. Meng Da shot 9-out-of-13 from behind the arc in the whole game.

Jason Rabedeaux, coach of Jiangsu obviously happy about this. Spearheaded by the 25-year-old Meng, Jiangsu then went on an 11-2 surge.

Hubei then had to change their strategy. They sent their star player on Court Wang Jing, who is the top player from CUBA. The change really worked. The gap was thus narrowed and the first half ended 38-47, Wang Jing continued his good form and assisted He Zhongmian with a shoot at the very beginning of the third quarter.

Wang seemed to keep alive Hubei's hopes of drawing level, but Meng Da didn't give them any more chances. He led the team with a game-high 35 points.

After a timeout, Hubei tried to find their form and a three-pointer followed. The third quarter finished 73-56.

But Meng Da continued to shine. Look at this, he blocked this shot and assisted Hu Xuefeng with this layup.

And again, this is the 10th three-pointer of Meng Da. 92-62, the 30 point gap seemed to leave Hubei no hope. The remaining minutes is garbage time.

Jiangsu thus took a comfortable victory over Hubei, and will face Shandong in the semifinals. Jason Rabedeaux attributed the triumph to the team's tight defence. Jason also coaches Jiangsu in Chinese domestic league CBA.

Editor: James | Source: CCTV.com