Li Yueru (R) of Inner Mongolia goes for a layup against Xinjiang in the 2020-21 season Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan)

Inner Mongolia lived up to its hype, claiming its maiden WCBA championship in a 2020-21 season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By sportswriters Su Bin and Liu Fangqiang

BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- With four Chinese internationals in its squad, Inner Mongolia encountered little resistance on its way to winning its maiden Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) championship in just its second season in China's top league.

Commencing on October 1, 2020, the 20-year-old women's basketball top-flight league was held over a span of three months in three stages, adopting a championship format in a "bubble" due to COVID-19 containment measures.

This WCBA season has witnessed notable breakthroughs, as Shanghai won the first ever title in the 3x3 category, and Daqing player-coach Ji Yanyan became the league's all-time leading scorer in the final year of her playing career.

Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) chairman Yao Ming (above C) poses for photos with victorious Inner Mongolia players at the 2020-21 WCBA awards ceremony in Bengbu, China, on Jan. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

DOMINANCE

Inner Mongolia strengthened in every position with the pre-season arrivals of Li Yueru, Yang Liwei, Huang Sijing and Li Yuan, leaving the remaining 16 sides little hope of taking the title.

Zheng Wei, assistant coach of China's national women's team, was appointed head coach of the inexperienced side, which also had former Chinese internationals Li Shanshan, Wei Wei and Ma Xueya in a mouth-watering roster.

Inner Mongolia kicked off the 2020-21 WCBA campaign with a 44-point shellacking of Hebei on their way to a 12-game winning streak, which was halted by their future finals opponent Xinjiang.

That was the only defeat that Inner Mongolia suffered throughout the season. After conquering Zhejiang and Sichuan in the playoffs, the northern Chinese side had a chance to avenge their loss to Xinjiang.

Playing against fellow national center Han Xu, who stands 2.05 meters tall, Li could not continue her overwhelming form in the paint as in previous rounds, but managed to restrain Han at the same time.

Inner Mongolia's backcourt duo unleashed their speed, with Yang consecutively attacking the basket, and Li spearheading the offense as a playmaker.

Featuring as a forward, Huang averaged 17.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the finals. Her role in the team's offensive system proved critical, and she was named the finals' Most Valuable Player.

Inner Mongolia scored a league-best average of 94.8 points, and their 60.6 points conceded per match was the lowest among 17 outfits, reflecting their dominance at both ends en route to the title.

But Huang didn't deem Inner Mongolia's title-winning path as plain sailing.

"Many people thought the champions had been effectively decided in terms of our roster, but we were clearly aware of the difficulties ahead, especially in building our team chemistry," she said.

"It's not easy for us, as we are a newly-formed group," Zheng echoed. "Our players are constantly going through a learning and improving process, and I'm proud of them."

Han Xu (L) of Xinjiang goes for a basket against Inner Mongolia in the WCBA on Jan. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

ANTICIPATION

Despite missing out on the title, Xinjiang also saw glimpses of hope from the past season.

After Zhan Shuping took charge, Xinjiang was undefeated in the second stage of the regular season, which included a morale-boosting victory over Inner Mongolia.

Averaging 21.2 points and 8.9 boards, Han formed Xinjiang's formidable attacking trio along with Wang Lili and Wang Siyu.

Promising players Zhu Meiqi and Chen Mingling gave Xinjiang hope with big progress in their stats. Wu Di and Qiu Siyue are also important pieces of Xinjiang's jigsaw, as they seek to continue their quest for the title.

With Chen Xiaojia and Jiang Jiayin suffering injuries, Jiangsu failed to move a step further with a semifinal loss to Xinjiang, but their balanced attack was impressive, with nine players averaging at least seven points.

Sichuan, formerly regarded as a minnow in the league, also reached the final four after Shao Ting and Gao Song joined from Beijing. The national team duo provided much-needed experience to Sichuan, which witnessed the growth of Hu Yueming and Zhao Xuetong, boosting the southwestern side's hopes for a better future.

Despite losing Shao and Gao from its ranks, there were also green shoots of recovery in this past season for Beijing, with young players Qi Yu and Tang Yu making strides.

National guard Wu Tongtong finished the best season of her career, giving Shanxi hope of staying among the top sides. Led by Wang Jiaqi, Zhejiang frequently played entertaining basketball, with many three-pointers and fast breaks.

Zhang Zhiting (C) of Shanghai looks to evade a pair of Sichuan players in their WCBA match on Dec. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

BREAKTHROUGH

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 WCBA season was staged in a bubble environment without the presence of overseas players.

With all-domestic rosters, some teams discovered huge gaps separating them in overall strength, exemplified by Inner Mongolia's 81-point romp over Fujian and Jiangsu's 74-point rout of Daqing.

But some sides also found something that deserved to leave a mark.

With the help of China's 3x3 national team players Zhang Zhiting and Li Yingyun, Shanghai claimed the WCBA's inaugural 3x3 league title.

Featuring a young squad, Daqing finished the season with only one victory from 16 games. But this did not overshadow Ji Yanyan's personal feat, as the 35-year-old forward became the WCBA's all-time leading scorer with 7,332 points, surpassing Miao Lijie's previous record of 7,299 points.

"It was a recognition for me over the past 16 seasons," said Ji, who took charge of Daqing in the 2017-18 season.

Not long after breaking the record, Ji announced her retirement as a professional player, with her retirement ceremony held on October 29.

"I will continue to work hard in the coming days. Retirement is not an end for me, and I will strive to make a greater contribution to Chinese basketball in the future," said Ji. ■