CHENGDU, China, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China's star center Han Xu scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Sichuan Yuanda Merlot win its first-ever Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) title here on Sunday.
Sichuan edged the defending champion Inner Mongolia Nongxin 83-82 in Game 3 of the Finals, winning the series 2-1.
Han Xu was awarded the Finals MVP.
Sichuan started the game aggressively, with Wang Siyu, Gao Song and Li Meng scoring in the paint.
Although Huang Sijing's 3-pointer and Shen Yi's layup helped Inner Mongolia close the gap, Sichuan continued to strengthen their defensive pressure and won the first quarter 19-16.
In the middle of the second quarter, Huang Sijing hit a 3-pointer to inspire Inner Mongolia to rally, overtake and extend their lead.
In the second half, Wang Xuemeng and Han Xu hit 3-pointers in succession, but Inner Mongolia's Chen Liyu quickly responded.
The third quarter ended with both teams tied at 63-63.
The game heated up, and the scores remained close in the last quarter. When Inner Mongolia lost two key players, Zhang Ru and Huang Sijing, who were fouled out successively, Sichuan took the lead.
In the final moments, Sichuan was one point ahead and had possession of the ball. Inner Mongolia failed to make a foul play and the time ran out.
Sichuan's Li Meng scored a game-high 24 points.
"To win the championship, our entire team put in a lot of effort," said Han Xu, adding, "I will always have a reverent heart towards the championship. We will continue to work hard." ■
