CBA game postponed after crowd trouble
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E-mail China Daily, March 14, 2012
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The team bus of Beijing Ducks was crowded by Shanxi fans after the Game Four of CBA semifinals on March 11, 2012. [XRB.com] |
The fifth and deciding CBA playoff game between the Shanxi Brave Dragons and Beijing Ducks has been postponed following crowd trouble during Beijing's 100-102 loss in Game 4 in Taiyuan on Sunday.
The Chinese Basketball Association announced last night that the game, which was scheduled for tonight, will now be played on Sunday in Beijing.
The series is level at 2-2.
Shanxi was fined 60,000 yuan (US$9,484) after its fans hurled plastic water bottles on court in the fourth quarter, forcing a delay of several minutes, and later surrounded Beijing's bus after the game.
The home fans were venting their ire at the referees who ignored a foul on Shanxi's Marcus Williams during a lay up.
Both teams issued statements yesterday to apologize for the chaos in Sunday's game.
A Shanxi fan later complained that he was assaulted by Beijing's Stephon Marbury, who used to play for the Brave Dragons two years ago.
But a Beijing official and the player himself denied any such wrongdoing. "None of my players and coaches saw Marbury hit someone when we exited the stadium," Beijing Ducks' deputy general manager Yuan Chao told Xinhua New Agency on Monday.
"Surrounded by two guards, his translator and trainers, he didn't have time or space to throw a punch, not to mention kick someone."
Later in Monday's interview with Beijing television BTV, Marbury denied hitting any fans, saying those who accused him of assault "must have a wild imagination".
"I would never kick or punch a fan," Marbury said on Weibo. "That's not my character."
It took the Beijing team over an hour to leave the stadium as Shanxi fans crowded the team bus and shouted obscenities.
"They threw stones and other debris at the bus, breaking the front window," Yuan recalled.
"We were scared when they pushed and rocked the bus. We left the stadium over one hour after we called the police."
Shanxi, fearful of retaliation, is advising fans not to travel to Beijing for Sunday's game.
The 35-year-old Marbury is the highest-profile NBA player to join the CBA and has said he enjoys playing in the league.
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A fan claimed Marbury hit him in the head with water bottle after the Game Four of the playoff series. [Chinanews.com] |
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