February 9, 2017
On Thursday, Huang Jing and Shanghai tried a late comeback in the deciding game of the series, but fell short against Bayi 69-67. Shenyang managed to execute the usual gameplan, withstanding Guangdong while Yelena Leuchanka was allowed on the floor and then minimizing the damage once she had to hit the bench. Huang Sijing was left with not enough help to overcome a balanced effort for the visitors led by Jin Jiabao in an 89-81 win.
Shanghai vs. Bayi 67-69 SH Huang 22 Xun 17/8r Li 14 81 Wang 18/9r Sun MR 16/7r Sun MX 12/11r Chen 9/9r
Guangdong vs. Shenyang 81-89 GD Huang 27/7r Leuchanka 20/12r Yu 16 SY Jin 22 Zhao 19/6r Liu 17 Wu 14 Li 13
The best of five semifinals begin on Saturday, giving the two military teams only a short time to travel. On the other side of the bracket, the teams have had more rest, which will help Beijing when they make the trek to Urumqi to face Xinjiang. The bracket now means that a military team will reach the finals, which makes game planning and tactics a key focus for that series. With the way that the two teams have played recently, Beijing-Xinjiang may actually be more like the de facto final and Beijing’s rest may prove to be critical as Xinjiang has increasingly relied on a short rotation to win games.