It's a pity! This afternoon, the Inner Mongolia Women's Basketball team officially announced their separation from foreign player Sidman. The announcement stated: "Sidman returned to her home country to prepare for the next WNBA season, and this separation was the result of friendly negotiations between the club, Sidman, and her agency." Regardless, it's clear that Sidman will no longer be playing for the Inner Mongolia team.
Since the start of this season, Sidman has played in 20 games for the Inner Mongolia Women's Basketball team, averaging 14 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 47.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 44%. Her performance has been quite good, but now her departure has dealt a heavy blow to the already struggling Inner Mongolia team!
This season, the Inner Mongolia Women's Basketball team has only managed a record of 15 wins and 8 losses, placing them fifth in Group A. This is far from their last season's record of 34 wins and 2 losses. It can be said that this season's Inner Mongolia team has been left far behind by the Sichuan Women's Basketball team, who are currently the only team in the league with an undefeated streak of 23 consecutive victories. The recent addition of big foreign player Cambage has only made the Sichuan team even stronger.
Over the past four years, the WCBA championship has always been contested between the Inner Mongolia and Sichuan Women's Basketball teams. Now, with Sidman's departure, it's certain that the Inner Mongolia team's strength will be affected. After all, the Inner Mongolia team had been working with Sidman for nearly three months, and finding another foreign player to integrate with the team would be another issue. Therefore, Sidman's departure may allow the Sichuan team to breathe a temporary sigh of relief. The two teams have faced each other in the finals for four consecutive years, so they know each other well. In fact, the Inner Mongolia team chose foreign players specifically to counter the Sichuan team; last season, the Inner Mongolia team lost due to weaknesses in their guard line, where there was still a gap between Li Yuan and Wang Siyu.
Last season, the Inner Mongolia team had Jones, a WNBA superstar, on their frontcourt. Even facing Han Xu, Jones could do as she pleased, playing however she wanted. This season, the Inner Mongolia team signed Brown to counter Han Xu and Cambage, but Brown's playmaking ability is too poor and he lacks three-point shooting capabilities, so his threat to the Sichuan team is minimal. The history of the past four years in the WCBA league might just change; it's possible that we won't see the Inner Mongolia and Sichuan teams battling it out in the finals anymore. After all, the Inner Mongolia team now only has Brown as a foreign player, and the performances of domestic players like Pan Zhenqi, Zhang Ru, Sun Mengran, and Li Yuan have not met expectations. Therefore, the Inner Mongolia team may stop at the semi-finals this season!
