CBA's competition this season has been fierce, with fans focusing more on top teams like Guangsha, Beijing, and Liaoning. However, there are also young teams that have made significant progress this season.
Ningbo, as a newcomer to the CBA, has a less competitive team lineup, which has led to consistently poor results, often ranking at the bottom of the league. However, this season, Ningbo has achieved a notable rise, with an 8-20 record and ranking 15th in the league, significantly better than previous seasons. The team is also expected to set a new record by achieving double-digit wins this season!
Sichuan has also made progress! Sichuan's local players are average in strength and lack outstanding young players, resulting in insufficient competitiveness. However, this season, they have shown keen insight in selecting foreign players, signing three strong foreign players: Samna, Hunter, and Maric. This has made the team quite competitive, achieving a 7-21 record and pulling off several upsets, making many strong teams wary!
Both Sichuan and Ningbo have made significant strides this season, and it was fortunate that they met in this round, both eager to defeat their opponent and add another victory to their tally!
The two teams are roughly equal in strength, both with chances to win! At the start, Hunter and Samna stood out, scoring continuously with their individual abilities, giving Sichuan a 9-4 lead! Matiang scored repeatedly, and Ning Hongyu provided assistance, as Ningbo launched a 12-0 run to quickly overtake the score! However, both teams then went cold, with Ningbo failing to score for over four minutes, while Sichuan was unable to close the gap, ending the first quarter with Sichuan trailing by five points! In the second quarter, Sichuan quickly regained their composure, with coach Han Shuo boldly changing formations and benching Samna for the entire quarter. Hunter played flawlessly, scoring eight points, while Wang Yunzhang emerged as a surprise contributor with nine points, helping Sichuan end the half with a two-point lead.
After halftime, Matiang scored with a layup, and Maric and Wang Yunzhang repeatedly attacked the basket to draw fouls, as both teams engaged in a seesaw battle, with the score going from tied at 48 to tied at 74. However, in the final moments, Hu Junlin and Maric hit back-to-back threes, and Samna completed a 2+1 play, as Sichuan went on an offensive surge to open up a seven-point lead after three quarters!
In the decisive fourth quarter, Ningbo experienced a scoring drought that lasted across three and a half minutes, allowing Sichuan to extend their lead into double digits. But Ningbo did not give up easily, with Wang Junjie hitting all four of his shots within the three-point line for ten points, and Ma Qi performing even better, accumulating 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, bringing Ningbo within two points with 4 minutes and 28 seconds left, reigniting the suspense of the game. In the final moments, Su Ruoyu hit a jump shot to stop the bleeding, Samna contributed an impressive dunk, and Hu Junlin hit his second three-pointer of the game, as Sichuan unleashed an offensive flurry to once again extend their lead to double digits, effectively ending the suspense of the game. Ultimately, Sichuan defeated Ningbo 117-107.
Ningbo's stats: Ronald Maqi with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; Wang Junjie with 20 points and 5 rebounds; Jordan Howard with 14 points and 5 assists.
Sichuan's stats: Edmund Samna with 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists; Wang Yunzhang with 24 points and 6 rebounds; Marcus Hunter with 15 points and 3 steals.
With this victory over Ningbo, Sichuan secured their eighth win of the season, and this win was once again largely due to the outstanding performance of foreign player Samna!
In this game, Samna played 34 minutes, shooting 10 for 20 to score 33 points, grab 13 rebounds, and dish out 9 assists, completely going wild on the court. His offense was unstoppable, his passing and organizing skills were top-notch, and he also had solid defense, fully leading the team!
And it's not just this one game; so far this season, Samna has averaged an explosive 36.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, with his scoring ranking first in the league. His offensive performance has been very fierce, and his overall play has been quite versatile. Among all foreign players, his strength is undoubtedly the most outstanding, making him the true superstar foreign player of this season!
Seeing Samna's excellent performance, other teams are drooling, and there will surely be a mad scramble for him next year! For CBA teams, Samna is simply too valuable! Teams at the bottom of the standings could win several more games in a season by signing him! Teams aiming for the playoffs could have a chance to make it with him, and teams like Guangdong, lacking a core perimeter player, would certainly have a chance to challenge for the championship again if they acquired Samna. This makes Samna a hot commodity, and it's really hard to say who will end up with him!