온라인카지노

CUBA Rules Need To Be Perfected And Loopholes Closed

Peking University beat China University of Mining and Technology 99-89 in controversial circumstances on June 6, 2021. (Photo courtesy of CUBA)

China's university basketball league has recently drawn wide attention, but for controversial reasons.

Perhaps in several years' time, people still will remember the unusual scenario that took place in the dying moments of regulation time when Peking University and China University of Mining and Technology were contending for a Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA) final-four berth on June 5, 2021. 온라인카지노

With the scores tied with 20 seconds to go, a Peking University player intentionally failed to score two free throws to allow the game to go into overtime.

Under the league's current regulations, winning the game by two points would not have been enough for Peking to advance into the semifinals.

In the quarterfinal first leg, Peking had lost 83-78, meaning that they had to win by at least six points in the second leg to qualify at the expense of their opponents.

But with the game hanging in the balance late in the second leg, Peking saw little hope of making that and instead elected to force an overtime to have more time to score more points, a plan that worked as they ultimately won the game by 10 points to take the aggregate win.

What Peking did was in accordance with the league's rules, which stipulate that when the two contending sides each win a game in the quarterfinals, the one with a higher total score will reach the semifinals. When the two sides win one game each and have the same total score, they will continue to compete through overtime to decide the winner.

The regulations also make no provisions for a tie, meaning that the second-leg winner has to be decided before applying to the rules of total score to determine the winning side.

"The winner of every game has to be decided, and both sides have been informed of the rules at a preceding meeting," wrote the league's official social media account.

But the question is whether the rules that Peking exploited in order to advance are reasonable.

After this incident, some netizens discovered the league's rules from 2019, and noticed big changes in the intervening two years.

The past version deemed the two-leg series as a game lasting 80 minutes (each CUBA game lasts 40 minutes without overtime). If the first leg finished in a draw, it would be unnecessary to play overtime to decide the winner, and if the two sides' total scores were the same, they would have to go on with overtime to break the tie.

According to the 2019 version, the winning side would be decided in two situations: winning both games, or reaching a higher total score after the second leg when the two sides have shared the spoils.

But some changes have been adopted to the rules this year, with the winner of each game having to be decided before considering the advancing side.

This is a main reason for the Peking University side choosing to miss both free throws late in regulation time, instead deciding to use overtime to overhaul the five-point deficit.

"Strange competition rules" is what many netizens react to the latest controversial incident.

"China University of Mining and Technology players fought hard for every point in regulation time. If only they had missed a free throw, they would have been the winner according to the current regulations. If this overtime was reasonable, it would encourage players to handle the game with a negative mindset," a Sina Weibo user named 'Stranger' wrote.

"As a guiding force, the competition format should motivate both sides to fight for every possession, showcase best themselves and put on a high-quality match. This is a topic that deserves an in-depth discussion," People's Daily Sports commented on its social media account.

"University basketball has witnessed development in its competitive level and increasing attention in recent years, and sometimes a controversy is unavoidable. But they need to face the controversy and respond to players' efforts and fans' expectations with a more perfect competition format, so that it may become a driving force of the league's future progress," it added.