“The Chinese Basketball Association attaches great importance to the fact the match between Shanghai Sharks and Jiangsu Dragons in the CBA playoffs on April 14 sparked strong doubts from the media and fans, and asked the two clubs to report the situation in writing,” a statement from the governing body read.
“The Chinese Basketball Association and CBA League will conduct a comprehensive investigation of the game, and will announce the results in a timely manner after the results are obtained.
“Once it is verified that there are any rule violations in the game, the CBA and CBA League will deal with them severely in accordance with the relevant management systems of the league and will not tolerate it.
“We resolutely defend the seriousness and fairness of the league, and all participants are also duty-bound to uphold the discipline and image of the league.”
Shanghai will now play the Shenzhen Aviators in a best-of-three series for a spot in the semi-finals.
But fans on Chinese social media were left outraged after the match, with the topic “match-fixing” trending high on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
“This is definitely the most outrageous match-fixing in the history of basketball. Too blatant,” one fan wrote on Weibo.
“Yao Ming can’t sit still, and will never tolerate it!” another user posted, referencing the president of the CBA – former Houston Rockets star Yao, who also played for the Sharks and used to own them.
“This match-fixing is so obvious, the audience is not blind,” read another comment on Weibo. “With such a big commotion, the Basketball Association can’t turn a blind eye to it. Can it be a deterrent?”
Other fans called for an immediate refund for those who bought tickets to the “fake” game, which reportedly cost 500 yuan.
“This is not as simple as match-fixing. It is simply an insult to IQ. Don’t treat the fans as fools,” a Weibo user said.
“The Chinese professional basketball league is ugly!” another said. “I’ve seen match-fixing before, but I have never seen such a fake [game] – five consecutive intentional mistakes. Chinese professional basketball is so blatantly [doing] match-fixing.”
Some fans also criticised former China national men’s team coach Li Nan, who now leads the Dragons, and his players for being “numb and unresponsive” and not showing any anger.
Others pointed out that the Sharks’ head coach Li Chunjiang “patted Li Nan’s stomach warmly” after the match, with his counterpart “all smiles” as they shook hands.
“The acting skills of both parties are too bad!” another fan wrote.
The controversy is a fresh blow for the Chinese Basketball Association, which had already been plunged into crisis by the midseason withdrawal of Xinjiang Flying Tigers in March, with officials also facing a dilemma over whether to allow the country’s star player Zhou Qi to join a new team.
Two weeks after quitting the league, abandoning the current season in protest against a transfer ban imposed on them last month, the Flying Tigers performed a U-turn and returned in a 100-97 loss at the Beijing Ducks.
However, the fate of Chinese star Zhou Qi is still unresolved with the 27-year-old unlikely to return to the court for the remainder of the season, amid a long-running contract dispute with the Flying Tigers, which could leave him short of match fitness for the Fiba World Cup and Asian Games later this year.
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