1996–97 Chinese Basketball Association season

The 1996–97 CBA season was the second season of the Chinese Basketball Association.

1996–97 CBA season
League	Chinese Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 27, 1996 – March 30, 1997
TV partner(s)	CCTV-5
Regular Season
Season champions	Bayi Rockets
Season MVP	Hu Weidong
Promoted to Second Division	Shanghai Sharks Sichuan Pandas
Relegated to Second Division	Zhejiang Squirrels Ji'nan Army
Playoffs
Finals
Champions	Bayi Rockets
Runners-up	Liaoning Hunters

The season ran from November 27, 1996, to March 30, 1997.

The Shanghai Sharks and Sichuan Pandas were promoted from the Second Division.[1][2]

Regular season standings

These are the final standings for the 1996-97 CBA regular season.[2]

#	1996–97 CBA season
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Tiebreaker
1	Bayi Rockets	19	3	.864	-	10–1	9–2
2	Liaoning Hunters	18	4	.818	1	9–2	9–2
3	Shandong Flaming Bulls	14	8	.637	5	8–3	6–5
4	Guangdong Southern Tigers	13	9	.591	6	8–3	5–6	GD 1-1 (151-145) SH
5	Shanghai Sharks	13	9	.591	6	8–3	5–6
6	Jiangsu Dragons	12	10	.545	7	7–4	5–6
7	Air Force	9	13	.409	10	6–5	3–8	AF 1-1 (162-161) SA
8	Shenyang Army	9	13	.409	10	8–3	1–10
9	Beijing Ducks	8	14	.364	11	5–6	3–8
10	Zhejiang Squirrels	7	15	.318	12	6–5	1–10	ZJ 1-1 (151-142) SC
11	Sichuan Pandas	7	15	.318	12	7–4	0–11
12	Ji'nan Army	3	19	.136	16	3–8	0–11

Key to colors

	Top 8 teams advance to the Playoffs
	Bottom 4 teams advance to the Relegation Round

Playoffs

The top 8 teams in the regular season advanced to the playoffs.

In the Final series, the Bayi Rockets defeated the Liaoning Hunters (2-0) for the CBA championship.[2]

	Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Finals
	1	Bayi Rockets	128	110	2
	8	Shenyang Army	78	69	0
								1	Bayi Rockets	109	119	2
								4	Guangdong Southern Tigers	81	84	0
	4	Guangdong Southern Tigers	84	87	2
	5	Shanghai Sharks	74	82	0
															1	Bayi Rockets	100	102	2
														2	Liaoning Hunters	68	66	0
	3	Shandong Flaming Bulls	102	77	2
	6	Jiangsu Dragons	72	74	0
								3	Shandong Flaming Bulls	70	77	0
								2	Liaoning Hunters	93	78	2
	2	Liaoning Hunters	80	85	2
	7	Air Force	55	77	0

5-8 Classification Fifth Place                           8 Shenyang Army 92 72 1(164)   5 Shanghai Sharks 91 94 1(185)       5 Shanghai Sharks 90 68 1(158)   6 Jiangsu Dragons 73 96 1(169) 6 Jiangsu Dragons 121 105 2 7 Air Force 118 99 0

Third Place 4 Guangdong Southern Tigers 87 78 1(165) 3 Shandong Flaming Bulls 69 79 1(148) Seventh Place 8 Shenyang Army 99 75 1(174) 7 Air Force 94 97 1(191)

Relegations

The bottom 4 teams played the relegation phase by round-robin.

The Ji'nan Army Zhejiang Squirrels were slated to be relegated to the Second Division.[2]

Team W L PF PA PD Beijing Ducks 5 1 500 432 +68 Sichuan Pandas 4 2 447 424 +23 Zhejiang Squirrels 3 3 445 464 −19 Ji'nan Army 0 6 453 525 −72 Key to colors      Bottom 2 teams relegated to the Second Division

BJ JA SC ZJ Beijing Ducks – 92-82 71-64 95-69 Ji'nan Army 75-92 – 79-85 77-90 Sichuan Pandas 76-70 81-69 – 74-64 Zhejiang Squirrels 66-80 85-71 71-67 –

CBA Awards

These are the award winners for the 1996-97 CBA regular season.[1]

• CBA Most Valuable Player: Hu Weidong (Jiangsu Dragons)
• Best Techniques Award: Gong Xiaobin (Shandong Flaming Bulls)
• Sportsmanship Award: Liu Yudong (Bayi Rockets)

All-Star Weekend

The 1997 CBA All-Star Game was played on April 5, 1997, in Shanghai.

The South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars 98-84. Hu Weidong from the Jiangsu Dragons was named MVP of the All-Star Game.

James Hodges from the Liaoning Hunters won the Slam Dunk Contest, and Saulius Štombergas from the Shanghai Sharks won the Three-Point Shootout.[1]

See also

• Chinese Basketball Association

References

1. 新浪体育 (2005-12-07). "96-97赛季CBA-冠名希尔顿 胡卫东当选MVP". Retrieved 2010-03-14.
2. 搜狐体育. "Data Source". Retrieved 2011-11-25.