The new year of 2025 has begun, and the CBA regular season has entered the fierce competition of the second half of the league. The 26th round of the regular season is divided into two match days. On January 3rd, five major battles were launched first. This night, there were three unexpected games, with three teams ranked higher being upset by lower-ranked teams. Among them, there was also a big upset, with two championship favorites suffering a Waterloo.
Qingdao's 7-point domination over Shanxi
This upset game saw Qingdao defeat the top-four team Shanxi 129-122 at home. Although the 7-point difference is not significant, why do we say it was a domination? Because from the scoring trend of the entire game, Qingdao was almost always leading. In the first quarter, Qingdao gave Shanxi a warning, starting with a 30-11 run in the first 7 minutes and 30 seconds, establishing a double-digit lead of 37-23.
Shanxi only had one moment of score reversal in the game, which occurred at 7 minutes and 43 seconds in the third quarter when Yuan Shuai made a three-pointer, and Shanxi took the lead 74-73. However, after the reversal, it only took less than 13 seconds before Shanxi was immediately overtaken by Qingdao again. In the subsequent game, no matter how Shanxi chased, they could not catch up. In the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter, Shanxi even trailed Qingdao 104-119, with a significant 15-point difference.
Of course, Shanxi was tenacious, and even when the game seemed hopeless for a reversal, they continued to apply full-court pressure and tactical fouls. However, this only inadvertently provided scoring opportunities for Qingdao players. Ultimately, through Shanxi's relentless efforts, this grueling battle that lasted 150 minutes allowed Qingdao to achieve a new season-high score of 129 points (Qingdao's average score for the season is only 103.6 points). It can be said that Qingdao completely defeated Shanxi in this game.
On the Qingdao side, four players scored in double figures, with Weatherspoon scoring 39 points and 8 rebounds, Mickey scoring 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Yang Hanshen scoring 17 points and 18 rebounds. The highest plus-minus value was Wang Ruize, the "Iron Man" of Qingdao, who comprehensively dominated the outside shooting against Yuan Shuai, making 4 out of 9 three-pointers to score 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Summarizing this game, Shanxi mainly lost because only four players on the team were playing seriously, namely the two foreign players Diawara and Goodwin, and the domestic players Yuan Shuai and Zhang Ning. The rest were mediocre, especially Jiao Hailong, Jia Mingru, Ge Zhaobao, and Lemon. Goodwin and Diawara combined for 70 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists, accounting for nearly 60% of the team's total score. Diawara played with great intensity in this game, and the referees were quite accommodating towards him. When he was fouled by Jia Cheng during an attempted layup, he angrily pushed Jia Cheng, almost triggering a brawl between the two teams. However, the referee only issued a technical foul.
Beijing's 118-96 victory over Zhejiang
The top-four team Zhejiang suffered a crushing 22-point defeat at the hands of Beijing, their second consecutive loss. In the previous round, they were surprisingly defeated by Shenzhen, and in this game, they were upset by Beijing, who were ranked seventh before the match. It's not a cold door, as Zhejiang was missing three national team starters, and even two foreign players were injured, effectively conceding a starting lineup. Although Chen Yingjun sprained his ankle and couldn't play, Zhou Qi returned. Without the threat of Yu Jiahao under the basket, Zhou Qi was almost unstoppable, scoring 18 points without much effort, and Beijing won without any suspense.
For Zhejiang, this can be considered a humiliating defeat. After all, since the 17-18 season, Zhejiang has not tasted defeat at Beijing's home court in recent years. This 22-point disaster should make Zhejiang reflect deeply. What should they reflect on? During the previous 10-game winning streak, Wang Shilong should not have overused the main players, resulting in varying degrees of injuries to Wu Qian, Yu Jiahao, and Cheng Shaipeng. After these players were injured, there was no one on the bench to replace them, leading to a lack of key players in critical moments. A weakened lineup was completely overwhelmed by Beijing, and Wang Shilong should have given young players like Liu Shuangyu and Zhou Yishan more playing time when he had the opportunity.
Guangzhou's overtime loss to Jiangsu
This was the third upset of the night, with two struggling teams ranked low. Guangzhou, ranked 17th, lost 90-96 to Jiangsu in overtime at home, suffering their 10th consecutive defeat. During regular time, the two teams fought fiercely, but it was a battle between equals. Guangzhou has been lacking Guo Ailun's leadership for a long time, and they were also short of two main foreign players, Ma Keal and Warren, before the game. With a weakened lineup, they managed to push the full-strength Jiangsu team to overtime after once trailing by 15 points. This is already commendable, as even Tong Jiajun could play for 16 minutes, showing just how broken Guangzhou is now.
The reason for the loss can be explained in four words - not enough manpower. Guangzhou often collapses in the final quarter, and during their 10-game losing streak, they did not give up early like Jiangsu and Fujian, who often lose. Instead, they fight until the last moment against any opponent with full fighting spirit. Therefore, many of their losses were by single digits. During this period, they lost to Liaoning by 1 point, to Tongxi by 3 points, and even went to double overtime against Shanghai. Guangzhou Long Lions always fall short in the decisive moments (except when they can't beat their nemesis Guangsha), and no one can stand up to score steadily in the crucial moments.
Xinjiang's 100-94 narrow victory over Sichuan
Zhao Rui was suspended, and Abudu was abandoned by Liu Wei, and Xinjiang only registered 11 players, giving the recently average-performing Sichuan team a glimpse of opportunity. In the first half, Sichuan played hard and led Xinjiang for more than a quarter, at one point widening the gap to 16 points. However, by the middle of the second quarter, the situation reversed, and Qi Lin took control of the game, scoring 12 points in a single quarter and leading the team to a 16-3 run to reverse Sichuan at halftime. In the third quarter, Xinjiang's defensive intensity was at its peak, allowing Sichuan only 14 points. In the decisive last two minutes of the final quarter, Qi Lin received an assist from Heiges and made a decisive three-pointer to end the game's suspense early.
Liu Wei mainly used an eight-man rotation, and six Xinjiang players scored in double figures. In a game where the foreign players' shooting was average, Qi Lin, who scored 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists, was Xinjiang's MVP. In this game, Qi Lin's three-point shooting was not accurate, making only 3 out of 9, but his main scoring came from mid-range jump shots and cuts to the basket, with a rich variety of scoring methods, treating himself as a foreign player.
Shenzhen's 122-112 narrow victory over Fujian, securing a 3-game winning streak
The recent overtime battle with Shanxi took a heavy toll on Shenzhen, with Zhou Peng and Bai Haotian both injured. However, miraculously, Shenzhen's recent record has rebounded instead. There are two main reasons for this: firstly, the recent opponents were not strong enough, including the weak Tianjin, the weakened Zhejiang, and the generous Fujian. Although Shenzhen's lineup is also average, their goal of qualifying for the playoffs remains unchanged. Like the rebuilding Guangzhou Long Lions, they have not given up.
Secondly, Zhou Peng gave up coaching in the second stage and returned to his player identity (only nominally a coach). He fought through serious injuries against Shanxi, taking painkillers to continue playing, inspiring the whole team. The 38-year-old Weems also took the lead, becoming more and more courageous. Zheng Yonggang found the manual for using Weems, and the two former Guangdong players discarded by Zhu Fangyu injected new vitality into the battered Shenzhen team. In this game, Zhou Peng and Weems both exploded, with Zhou Peng scoring 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, unstoppable, and Weems scoring a triple-double with 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, returning to his peak form.
Analysis of the top 6 rankings after the first 5 games of Round 26:
With both Shanxi and Zhejiang losing, the
