The CBA Club Cup continues to heat up, and on December 4, a major matchup took place as Guangdong faced long-time rivals Shanxi. After four quarters of intense back-and-forth, Shanxi pulled ahead in the final minutes and defeated Guangdong 106–93.
Shanxi opened the game with fierce momentum, pressing aggressively on both ends and quickly taking control. Although Guangdong briefly took the lead, Shanxi answered with a powerful offensive surge and held a 7-point advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Xu Jie led a strong Guangdong comeback, knocking down threes and slashing inside to cut the margin to just 3 points. But in the decisive fourth quarter, Guangdong collapsed with repeated unforced errors, allowing Shanxi’s balanced offense to seal the win.
Xu Jie deserved all the praise. He played 36 minutes, shooting 10-of-17 (4-of-8 from deep) and racking up 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists, practically carrying the team by himself. Unfortunately, he simply had too little help…
The biggest disappointment of the night, however, was Zhang Haojia.
With Cui Yongxi absent, Zhang received extended minutes but failed miserably to make an impact. In nearly 16 minutes, he shot 1-for-6 for just 4 points, adding 1 turnover and 4 fouls in what can only be described as a disastrous performance.
During Guangdong’s crucial comeback push, he not only missed a wide-open three, but even blew two uncontested layups — one under the rim, one on a fast break. These misses were momentum-killers.
And then came the most shocking moment: in crunch time, he grabbed a defensive rebound with no defender near him… and somehow knocked the ball out of bounds by himself. Sullinger froze with his hands in the air, and coach Du Feng could only give a helpless smile.
Wide-open misses, blown layups, butterfingers on rebounds — Zhang’s performance left fans furious:
- “Get him off the court!”
- “Retire already — a pro missing open layups?”
- “What is he even doing out there?”
- “How can someone like this still be in the CBA?”
The discussion is explosive.
What’s your take on Zhang Haojia’s performance?
