South wins WCBA All-Star Game, Sun Mengran crowned MVP

Fueled by Sun Mengran's double-double, the South won the 2016 Chinese Women's Basketball Association (WCBA) All-Star Game at 108-97 over their the North here on Saturday.

Sun was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Sun Mengxin, her teammate in Bayi, also saw a double-double of 21 points and 11 boards.

"Thanks for all players' efforts. They contributed to Sun Mengran's MVP trophy," said Zhan Shuping, the South team's head coach.

Huang Hongpin replaced Tina Charles in the North's starting lineup, and made the first field goal of the match with a jumper. Sun Mengran and Sun Mengxin made three 3-pointers together in the first quarter, while suffering a strong response by their opponents as the North's substitutes came out with a 10-0 run. The North led by 34-29 as this quarter ran out, and extended the margin to seven points after the first half.

The South came back into the game in the third on Chen Xiaojia's consecutive plays. After Chen made a layup, the South built a double-digit advantage with less than one minute to go in this period.

The North's Maya Moore, nicknamed "Invincible Queen" in China, had 12 points in last 12 minutes, but the South resisted the comeback from their opponents, and Chen's three-pointer buzzer beater set the score at 108-97.

Moore had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Ji Yanyan finished with a team-high 24 points.

Peng Shiqing won the skills challenge at 55.6 seconds, and Li Shanshan took away the three-pointer shooting contest champion with a score of 13. Endit