We continue our Asian Basketball Journal this week by congratulating the new CBA champions, the Sichuan Blue Whales! It was a golden turnaround for a team that finished at 18th place last season, and it’s a validation of Hamed Haddadi’s status as Asia’s best big man. Also, the 2016 KBL and ABL Finals have kicked off, while the IBF Superleague is down to the final four teams. Meanwhile the windup to the SBL, NBL-Japan, and LBl seasons are moving along as well.
Like in previous posts, I won’t be going into a lot of detail. I’ll use mostly images and then just add captions to each one that will, hopefully, capture the essence of the latest developments in Asian hoops.
2015-2016 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA):
- Images from OSports.cn.
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| Guo Ailun and the Lianoning Flying Leopards fall short of their championship dreams for the second year in a row. |
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| Finals MVP Hamed Haddadi helps Sichuan complete an unlikely turnaround from a cellar-dweller to a bona fide champion. |
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| Mike Harris was undoubtedly a huge reason Sichuan copped the crown this season. |
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| The Sichuan Blue Whales are our 2015-2016 CBA Champs after winning their series, 4-1! |
2015-2016 Korean Basketball League (KBL:):
- Images from Jumpball.co.kr.
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| Andre Emmett dropped 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as Jeonju KCC Egis took Game 1 of the Finals, 82-76. |
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| Jeonju KCC Egis is just 3 wins away from taking their sixth KBL crown. |
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| Moon Tae-Jong goes up for a running one-hander. He scored a dozen point sin their loss. |
2015-2016 Japan National Basketball League (NBL):
- Images from NBL.or.jp.
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| Daiki Tanaka and the rest of the Toyota Alvark absorbed a shallacking at the hands of the Aisin Seahorses this past week. |
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| Kosuke Kanamaru put up 24 points as the Seahorses pulled the rug from under league-leader Toyota, 87-69. |
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| Takuya Kawamura drilled in 13 points as Mitsubishi won back-to-back games this week to stay in the top eight. |
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2015-2016 JAPAN
NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
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Rank
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TEAM
|
WINS
|
LOSSES
|
|
1
|
Toyota Alvark
|
33
|
7
|
|
2
|
Link Tochigi Brex
|
33
|
8
|
|
3
|
Aisin Seahorses
|
28
|
14
|
|
4
|
Toshiba Brave Thunders
|
27
|
16
|
|
5
|
Hitachi Sunrockers
|
26
|
13
|
|
6
|
Hokkaido Levanga
|
23
|
21
|
|
7
|
Chiba Jets
|
17
|
23
|
|
8
|
Mitsubishi Diamond
Dolphins
|
17
|
24
|
|
9
|
Hiroshima Dragonflies
|
15
|
27
|
|
10
|
Kumamoto Volters
|
11
|
29
|
|
11
|
Nishinomiya Storks
|
10
|
30
|
|
12
|
Tsukuba Robots
|
7
|
35
|
2015-2016 Super Basketball League (SBL):
- Images from TSNA/SBL.
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| Lee Te-Wei recorded a sublime double-double as Yulon beat defending champs Pure Youth, 84-74. |
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| Li Wei-Cheh top-scored for Bank of Taiwan with 27 points in their blowout W over KKL. |
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| Wu Yi-Bin shot 5/5 from the floor and scored 12 points in 13 minutes for Yulon, which is at 4th spot in the league. |
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2015-2016 TAIWAN SUPER BASKETBALL
LEAGUE
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|||
|
Rank
|
TEAM
|
WINS
|
LOSSES
|
|
1
|
Pure Youth Construction
|
21
|
9
|
|
2
|
Taiwan Beer
|
20
|
10
|
|
3
|
Dacin Tigers
|
18
|
12
|
|
4
|
Yulon Luxgen
|
17
|
13
|
|
5
|
Fubon Braves
|
13
|
17
|
|
6
|
Bank of Taiwan
|
12
|
18
|
|
7
|
Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor
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4
|
26
|
2015-2016 IBF Superleague First Conference:
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| Herve Toure attacks the basket as Chemidor beat Naft Abadan to tie the series at 1-1. |
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| NT big man Mohammad Hassanzadeh waits for the inbounds play as Ali Allahverdi gets ready to guard him. |
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| Petrochimi Bandar Imam booked their Finals tickets after disposing of Shahrdary Arak, 100-86. |
2015-2016 Lebanese Basketball League (LBL):
- Images from Sportscode.
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| Two of the best big men in West Asia, Ali Haidar of Lebanon and Sani Sakakini of Palestine, battled this past week. |
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| Tarek Ammoury attacks the Sagesse defense in Moutahed's 96-95 win. |
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2016 LEBANESE BASKETBALL
LEAGUE
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Rank
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TEAM
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WINS
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LOSSES
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|
1
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Al Riyadi Beirut
|
13
|
2
|
|
2
|
Homenetmen Beirut
|
10
|
4
|
|
3
|
Al Moutahed Tripoli
|
9
|
6
|
|
4
|
Hoops Club
|
8
|
6
|
|
5
|
Byblos Sporting Club
|
7
|
7
|
|
6
|
Tadamon Zouk
|
7
|
7
|
|
7
|
Sagesse Al Hekmeh
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5
|
11
|
|
8
|
Louaize
|
3
|
11
|
|
9
|
Champville
|
3
|
11
|
2016- ASEAN Basketball League (ABL):
- Images from the ABL.
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| Matthew Wright and the Westports Malaysia Dragons fell short of clinching the title in Game 4. |
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| Wei Long Wong is mobbed by his teammates after hitting the game-winner to send the Finals to a winner-take-all Game 5 in Kuala Lumpur. |
Did it count? Watch the clock!!!
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