In the final seconds of a blowout game, Chinese international Yi
Jianlian stayed in the game trying to score an easy layup to break
his career high 42 points. Unluckily, the easy shot didn't go in
and the buzzer sounded.
But it didn't upset Yi at all. He still gathered at mid court
with his Guangdong Southern?Tigers teammates to celebrate
their 98-65 blowout win over the lower Shanghai Sharks.
On the evening before flying to Italy, Yi Jianlian tied his
career high with 42 points in 39 minutes along with 13 Rebounds
receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd. Tomorrow(Jan 11th
2007), Yi Jianlian will fly to Italy? representing his
hometown Shenzhen to bid for the 2011 Universiades.
Yi got going early in the first quarter. His hot shooting helped
his team to build an early 9:0 lead. Yi finished the quarter with
18 points and 5 Rebounds. It seemed that Yi just couldn't miss.
Seconds before the buzzer sounded for the first quarter, Yi got the
ball in the air after teammate Wang Shipeng's missed layup and
slammed it in. This move brought all the home fans on their
feet.
Mid way through the second quarter, Liu Wei, as the only
Shanghai Sharks player who is on the Chinese national team,
sprained his ankle on a layup. That pretty much signaled the end of
Shanghai Sharks chances for a comeback. Yi Jianlian went on with
his hot shooting early in the third quarter and helped Guangdong
Tigers build a comfortable 30-point lead.
After making 18 of his 23 shots tonight, Yi Jianlian said, "My
shooting percentage is pretty high today. I tried to be very
aggressive."
As he will miss at least 3 CBA games due to his trip to Italy,
Yi also sent his best wishes to his teammates. He said, "I hope my
team can play well. I'll try my best to come back for the important
match-up against Jiangsu Dragons."
After this easy win, Yi's Guangdong Southern Tigers tops the CBA
Standings with a 17-3 record. Jiangsu Dragons ranks No.2 in the CBA
with a 16-3 record.
(fiba.com January 12, 2007)