CBA Club Cup: Xinjiang beats Shanxi 105-89 to reach championship final

The final stage of the inaugural Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Club Cup is underway in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Tuesday's action saw the Xinjiang Flying Tigers defeat the Shanxi Loongs 105-89 to reach the title game.

Robert Edwards, who joined Xinjiang during the Lunar New Year break, scored a team-high 29 points while also grabbing six rebounds and distributing five assists. Former NBA slam dunk champion Hamidou Diallo poured in a game-high 35 points for Shanxi.

The Flying Tigers led by nine points after the first quarter. But the Loongs, who currently sit in second place in the CBA regular season standings, knotted the score at 54-54 going into halftime.

Xinjiang enjoyed a 13-2 run in the third quarter to go back in front by nine points, and never gave Shanxi a chance to recover. 

Eight CBA teams advanced to the final stage, which features a single-elimination format, and each quarter is 10 minutes long instead of the usual 12. Teams may field up to four overseas players per contest, with a maximum of eight appearances across all games, but no more than two can be on the court at the same time.

CBA Club Cup contests do not count in the regular season standings.

The other semifinal game will pit the Beijing Ducks against the Shanghai Sharks on Wednesday, with the final set to take place on Saturday.