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, with five major battles taking place on January 3rd. On this night, there were three unexpected matches, with three teams ranked higher being defeated by lower-ranked teams, including a major upset where two championship favorites suffered defeats.
In the home game against Shanxi, Qingdao defeated the fourth-ranked Shanxi team 129-122. Although the seven-point difference is not significant, Qingdao led almost throughout the game, establishing a double-digit lead in the first quarter with a score of 37-23. Shanxi only briefly took the lead once during the game but was quickly overtaken again by Qingdao. With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Shanxi still trailed by as many as 15 points. Despite their tenacious efforts, Shanxi ultimately could not reverse the outcome.
Qingdao's victory set a new high for single-game scoring this season, which can be considered a complete victory. Four players from Qingdao—Weatherspoon, Mickey, Yang Hanshen, and Wang Ruize—scored in double figures, with Wang Ruize dominating the outside matchup against Yuan Shuai, contributing a comprehensive stat line of 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. In contrast, Shanxi only had four players—Diawara, Goodwin, Yuan Shuai, and Zhang Ning—who performed well, while other players had average performances, especially Jiao Hailong, Jia Mingru, Ge Zhaobao, and Lemon, who failed to provide sufficient support to the team.
Another top-four team, Zhejiang, suffered a crushing 22-point defeat at the hands of Beijing in this round, resulting in their second consecutive loss. They were upset by Shenzhen in the previous round and were then defeated by Beijing, ranked seventh before the match. Despite Zhejiang missing three national team starters and two injured foreign players, Beijing won without any suspense. After Zhou Qi's return, facing a Zhejiang team without Yu Jiahao, he was almost unstoppable, easily scoring 18 points.
This defeat was undoubtedly humiliating for Zhejiang, as they had not lost a game in Beijing since the 17-18 season. This crushing loss also prompted deep reflection within the Zhejiang team. During their previous 10-game winning streak, Wang Shilong overused his main players, leading to varying degrees of injuries for Wu Qian, Yu Jiahao, and Cheng Shaipeng, leaving the bench short-handed and allowing Beijing to completely dominate them in critical moments. Wang Shilong should give more young players like Liu Shuangyu and Zhou Yishan more opportunities to train in the future.
In last night's third underdog victory, the 17th-ranked Guangzhou team lost 90-96 to Jiangsu in overtime at home, suffering their tenth consecutive defeat. The two teams fought fiercely during regular time, but Guangzhou, long lacking Guo Ailun's leadership and losing two key foreign players Ma Keer and Warren at the last minute, managed to push the game to overtime despite trailing Jiangsu by 15 points at one point, which is commendable.
The reason for Guangzhou's loss can be explained with the phrase "not enough manpower." They often collapse in the final quarter, and during their ten consecutive losses, they did not surrender early like Jiangsu and Fujian but fought until the last moment against any opponent, full of fighting spirit; therefore, many games ended with single-digit defeats. Zhao Rui was suspended, and Abudu was abandoned by Liu Wei, with Xinjiang only registering 11 players, giving the recently mediocre Sichuan team an opportunity.
Sichuan played very hard in the first half, leading Xinjiang for more than a quarter and at one point extending the lead to 16 points. However, by the middle of the second quarter, the situation reversed as Qi Lin took control of the game, scoring 12 points in a single quarter and leading the team to a 16-3 run to turn the game around at halftime. In the third quarter, Xinjiang's defensive intensity was at its peak, allowing Sichuan only 14 points in that quarter. In the decisive last two minutes of the final quarter, Qi Lin received an assist from He Gens and threw in a decisive three-pointer, ending the game's suspense early.
Liu Wei mainly used an eight-man rotation, with six Xinjiang players scoring in double figures. Despite the foreign players' average shooting, Qi Lin scored 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists, becoming Xinjiang's MVP. The recent overtime battle with Shanxi took a heavy toll on Shenzhen, with Zhou Peng and Bai Haotian both getting injured. Miraculously, however, Shenzhen's recent record has rebounded. There are two main reasons for this: firstly, the recent opponents were not particularly strong, including weak teams like Tianjin, a weakened Zhejiang, and "point-giving" Fujian. Although Shenzhen's lineup is also average, the team's goal of securing a playoff spot remains unchanged, just like the rebuilding Guangzhou Long-Lions, they have not given up.
Secondly, Zhou Peng gave up coaching in the second stage and returned to being a player. He continued to play against Shanxi despite a severe injury, even taking painkillers to keep going, inspiring the whole team. The 38-year-old Weems also took the lead, growing bolder and stronger with each game. 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, both Zhou Peng and Weems went on a rampage, with Zhou Peng scoring 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Weems exploding for a triple-double of 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, returning to their peak form.
With both Shanxi and Zhejiang losing, the top six positions in the standings have become even more unpredictable as of now. The top four teams remain unchanged, with Guangsha still at the top, Xinjiang temporarily in second, Shanxi and Zhejiang still in third and fourth after their losses, Shandong in fifth, and Beijing and Qingdao temporarily surpassing Liaoning to come in sixth and seventh. Liaoning is currently eighth, but this is only temporary. After the current round of matches between Shandong and Liaoning, regardless of the outcome, Zhejiang's fourth-place position will definitely not be maintained (Shandong and Liaoning both lead Zhejiang 1-0 in regular-season matchups).
Tonight, Shandong will face Guangdong in a rematch, while Liaoning will challenge Jilin. If Shandong defeats Guangdong, taking advantage of Shanxi and Zhejiang's losses, Shandong's ranking will rise three places to second! If Liaoning defeats Jilin, their ranking will also rise three levels to fifth, so these two battles tonight should be a must-win for Yang Ming and Qiu Biao.
On the CBA court, every game is filled with variables and suspense. The rankings and states of the teams can change at any time, which is precisely the charm of basketball games. For fans, what they look forward to seeing is the team's tenacious struggle and indomitable spirit in adversity. For teams and coaches, they need to constantly adjust tactics and lineups during the game to meet the challenges posed by opponents.
In this process, the players' performance is particularly crucial. They need to step up in critical moments to win victories for the team. At the same time, the tactical arrangements and on-site command of the coach are also vital. They need to make timely adjustments based on the actual situation of the game to ensure that the team can perform at its best level.
In the upcoming games, all teams will engage in fierce competition for playoff spots. They need to demonstrate higher competitive standards and stronger team cohesion in the games. For fans, they will continue to pay attention to and support their favorite teams, cheering them on. On this passionate and vibrant court, let us together look forward to more exciting games and surprises.