We’ve covered the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) all season long, and the championship series between Sichuan and Inner Mongolia did not disappoint. The teams went the distance, playing all five games. But when the dust settled, Sichuan emerged victorious, winning Game 5 83-78 to take the title.
The game was tight, but Li Meng hit two huge 3-pointers late to help Sichuan pull away. Sichuan winning the title means they have repeated as champions and protected their crown.
Meng, the Finals MVP, was the star, but she wasn’t out there alone. Liz Cambage was tremendously impactful in Game 5, scoring 38 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out a pair of dimes. In case there was any question about the former WNBA player’s ability, she answered those doubts emphatically; Cambage can not only still play, but she’s also still one of the best players in the world.
Conversely, you had Jonquel Jones fighting to win it all, scoring 23 points for Inner Mongolia. She wasn’t alone, with Zhang Ru contributing 18 points and Li Yuan adding 16 points.
Closing thoughts
It has been sensational that the WCBA has allowed women to play competitive basketball at a high level during the WNBA offseason. We’ve seen players like Cheyenne Parker, Han Xu, Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Teaira McCowan, just to name a few, shine while playing in China. This league has never had such a massive influx of WNBA players involved in a single season, and by most accounts, the experience was a success and can be replicated next year.
It will be interesting to see how players who performed in the WCBA play in the WNBA in 2024 and if they compliment the WCBA for their WNBA performances, just as some WNBA players that have competed in Athletes Unlimited credited that league for helping them in their careers. For now, the end of the WCBA is another sign that the WNBA season is about to get underway. Training camp rosters are being announced, and in a couple of weeks, we’ll actually be watching WNBA action.
If the WCBA continues to grow as it did in 2024, it will soon be just as competitive as other overseas league, stacking talented rosters together and advancing women’s basketball. This Finals series certainly lived up to the hype after one of the most exciting WCBA seasons in recent memory, and hopefully is a sign of things to come for basketball in China.
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