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Yao Ming Leads Shanghai to Oust Bayi 100-95
Pivot Yao Ming led the Shanghai Sharks to a brilliant victory by ousting the defending champions Bayi Rockets 100-95 in the opening game of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) new season Saturday night in Shanghai.
Yao, 20, who took part in the Olympics this summer, outshone Wang Zhizhi, who was selected by the NBA Dallas Mavericks in 1998-99 in the second round draft. Shanghai took a revenge for their 4-0 loss in last season's finals to the Rockets.
This is the first opener loss for the five-time champions Rockets, who were defeated just three times since the domestic league was launched in 1995.
Five minutes into the game, the Sharks led by 10 points, but the margin was cut down by accurate long-range free shots of the Rockets. The halftime wound up 45-all.
The Rockets, which own four Olympians, pulled away in the third quarter and seemed to take the win as they usually did in the past seasons.
However, the 2.25-meter Yao kept the Sharks in contention and turned the table around in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
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