Powered by Stephon Marbury, Beijing Ducks Vie for CBA Title

Beijing has become a sports powerhouse in China.

Right now, the biggest buzz in the Beijing professional sports community is coming from the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Ducks, led by foreign hero Stephon Marbury, are competing in the CBA finals for a shot at their second championship in franchise history.

The road to the finals was no easy task for Beijing. Six games into the regular season Beijing lost Marbury to a knee injury that kept him out for 22 of the 34 games.

Marbury is back now; stronger than ever. In its semi-final matchup against the Guangdong Southern Tigers (known as the Miami Heat of China) Marbury averaged over 33 points per game leading the Ducks to a 3-2 best of five series victory over a Guangdong team that lost only four games all year. His ability to control the pace of the game is fascinating. His former New York Knicks teammate and current Beijing Ducks teammate Randolph Morris is Beijing’s friendly giant (211 cm/6’11") who consistently scores over 30 points per game.

In the CBA finals, Beijing was labeled the underdog against the second place Xinjiang Flying Tigers who have a foreign star of their own, the CBA’s most valuable player Lester Hudson.

In Wednesday night’s game one of the best of seven series, the Ducks laid an old fashioned Beijing beatdown on the Flying Tigers with a final score of 95-75. The series now stands at 2-1 Beijing, after Saturday's loss by Beijing to Xinjiang at the MasterCard Center in Wukesong.

On paper, Xinjiang might be the favorite to win the series but Beijing is playing with a lot of passion. They are the type of team that plays for the name on the front of jersey and not the name on the back.

Marbury and the Ducks are still two wins away from bringing a second CBA title in the league’s 19-year history.

Game four is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the MasterCard Center. For tickets to the 2014 CBA Finals in Beijing, visit cba.mypiao.com. For those who can’t make it you can always catch the game live on CCTV 5.

Photo: Sina.com