The next Yao Ming, Wang Zhelin faces Yi Jianlian in CBA game

 

The 1-on-1 encounter of Wang Zhelin versus Yi Jianlian turned out to be a THRILLER ONLY to be decided by 1 point at the end of the game. Guangdong Dongguan Bank Hongyuan Tigers narrowly nipped Fujian SBS Xunxin 104 ~ 103 in Jinjiang of Fujian last night.

Originally Fujian SBS Xunxin had a chance to steal a win over the mighty Guangdong team. They had a 10 point lead by end of 3Q (81 ~ 71), and then a 16-point lead in early part of 4Q (90 ~ 74), but then led by Yi Jianlian, the Guangdong team had a 21 ~ 1 run that saw them come back from behind to nip Fujian SBS Xunxin for the last laugh.

Wang Zhelin showed that he DEFINITELY has the potential and will be NBA bound by his 1H performance. He was just 1 point and 1 rebound away from 20/10 (19 points/9 rebounds) while Yi Jianlian only had 12 points/4 rebounds with both having similar play minutes. He even humiliated Yi Jianlian by stealing the rock from Yi from the backcourt, and then sprinted forward, with Yi chasing him the full court, to finish the fastbreak with a dunk in 2Q.

But Wang Zhelin also showed his lack of experience in 2H. Probably due to having 4 fouls very early in 3Q (and picking up his 5th in early 4Q), as well as instead of initiating attack from the inteior, his Fujian team mates (particularly Sunidata Gaines) tried to go exterior and bricked alot of shots, Wang Zhelin did not get much supplies in the second half, and only managed another 5 points in the crucial stage of 4Q; nevertheless, Wang Zhelin ended the game with a 20/10, scoring 24 points (8/13 FG% 8/10 FT%), 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 35 minutes of play.

On the other hand, Yi Jianlian showed his experience in 2H, particularly in 4Q, and master-minded Guangdong Hongyuan’s come-from-behind win. He put a few defensive stops and caused a crucial turnover (travelling) of Wang Zhelin in the crucial stretch of the game, and sort of sealed the win of Guangdong at the end with 2 nicely taken free throws while Wang Zhelin missed 1 of his 2 free throws to tie the game.

Yi Jianlian also managed a double-double, scoring 27 points (12/18 FG% 3/5 FT%), 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 turnovers in 40.3 minutes of play.

Other than Wang Zhelin, 3 Fujian players were in double digits; Will McDonald: 35 points(13/21 FG% 1/2 3-pointer% 8/10 FT%)/ 10 rebounds/2 assists; Sunidata Gaines: 15 points (6/15 FG% 1/4 3-pointer% 2/5 FT%)/13 rebounds/6 assists; Guo Lei: 10 points/3 rebounds.

On Guangdong side, 3 other players were in double digits;

Terrence Williams just shoot shoot shoot and almost secured his DirectShoot MVP award if Guangdong had lost this game; he scored 22 points with a very poor FG% (8/26 FG% 2/12 3-pointer% 4/6 FT%), and grabbed 3 rebounds and dished 3 assists.

Ike Diogu scored a double-double of 21 points (8/11 FG% 0/1 3-pointer% 5/6 FT%) and 14 rebounds; Wang Shipeng contributed a few clutch 3-pointers during the crucial stretch of 4Q, and finished with 17 points (6/15 FG% 5/12 3-pointer% 0/2 FT%), 7 rebounds and 1 assist.