Shao Ting's 31 moves Beijing closer to 1st WCBA title in four seasons

Thanks to Chinese international Shao Ting's game-high 31 points, runners-up Beijing for the last two seasons, upset Xinjiang 89-80 in the finals' Game 3 here on Saturday for a 2-1 lead, moving just one win away from their first title of the Chinese Women's Basketball Association (WCBA) since the 2011-12 season.

Shao also contributed five boards and four assists. Her teammates Sylvia Fowles and Gao Song added 16 and 14 respectively.

"Two teams were at the same line before the game and felt the pressure after the tip-off. Fortunately, we broke the deadlock," commented Xu Limin, head coach of Beijing.

Xinjiang made one change for their starters as Zhang Xiaoni replaced Peng Shiqing. American center Fowles made the first shot of the match with a second-chance layup, while failing to convert it into a three-point play.

Tension was felt in the 7,000-capacity arena in the first quarter, as two teams made just one shot in the first four minutes, even Shao missed two consecutive easy baskets. For the whole period, Beijing made 5 of 16 attempts and led by 11-8 over the hosts, who hit none of their four 3-pointers.

Peng came from the bench early in the second period. Her fast break layup pleased home crowds and cut the deficit to one, before their opponents made strong response in their next several attacks, extending the lead to six on Sun Xiaoyu's shot beyond the arc. Beijing had a three-point advantage in hand into the locker room.

Peng had 13 of her 28 in the third period, and combined with Zhang for Xinjiang's first 15 points to keep the deficit within three, while the visitors made several attacks in the paint to extend the lead little by little.

Beijing led by as many as 14 points early into the final 12 minutes and kept the margin with 6:20 remaining on Shao's 13 points in a row.

Ma Zengyu's three-pointer once cut the deficit to four with 50 seconds to go, before Shao had another five points in a row, including a three-point play. Beijing used free throws to put it away at the end.

"We had a good performance despite the loss. We missed a few chances today," said Xinjiang's head coach Zhan Shuping.

Tina Charles had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for Xinjiang, but was out due to injury below her left eye. According to Zhan, Charles was sent to hospital for stitching and may miss the next game. Ma scored 14.

"We may play without Charles in next game. We will give chances to more players. That's the most important to us as a newcomer," added Zhan.

Beijing will host Xinjiang in Game 4 on March 8. Endit