CBA 2001-02

In the 2001–2002 Chinese Basketball Association season, the Taiwanese team Sina Lions joined the CBA. Another team that made its debut in this season was the Shaanxi Gaitianli.

The regular season began on December 8 2001 and ended on March 13 2002. Games were played on Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. [http://sports.sohu.com/64/60/sports_news163936064.shtml]

In the 2002 all-star game, played in Beijing on February 17 2002, the Dragon team beat the Tiger team 122-120, and Mengke Bateer was the MVP. [http://sports.tom.com/1019/2785/2004112-250060.html]

The playoff matchups for the quarter-finals were Bayi vs. Sina, Beijing Shougang vs. Shandong, Jilin vs. Zhejiang, Shanghai vs. Guangdong. [http://news.xinhuanet.com/nsports/2002-04/03/content_342577.htm]

Regular Season

Playoffs

In the finals, the Shanghai Sharks led by Yao Ming defeated Bayi Rockets (3-1). This snapped a series of six consecutive championships for the Bayi Rockets.

The relegation playoffs involved the bottom four teams. Shaanxi defeated Beijing Aoshen and Liaoning defeated Shenzhen. Normally, this would have meant that both Beijing Aoshen and Shenzhen would be relegated to the "B" division [http://web12.cri.com.cn/english/2002/Apr/56836.htm] , but in the event, Aoshen returned the following year, so they were either not relegated or they won promotion back.

Final rankings

The final rankings, taking into account playoff performances, were:

#Shanghai
#Bayi
#Jilin
#Shandong
#Beijing Shougang
#Zhejiang
#Guangdong
#Sina
#Jiangsu
#Shaanxi
#Liaoning
#Beijing Aoshen
#Shenzhen

ee also

* Chinese Basketball Association