Star-less Sharks fall short

THE Shanghai Sharks missed the services of their star players - Liu Wei and Gilbert Arenas - as they crashed 86-112 at the Zhejiang Lions yesterday that ended their two-game winning streak.

Arenas missed the game with a right knee effusion while captain Liu was out with fever, the team said.

The Sharks counted on their other import, D.J. White, who was backed by young players to get through the first half, trailing by just one point - 43-44. But some poor shooting percentage in the second half ended the early steam.

Zhejiang's Peter Ramos notched a game-high 29 points and six rebounds. For Sharks, the 23-year-old Ge Yang scored 22 points with White contributing with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Sharks - 7-16 - remain next to last in the 17-team CBA league. Zhejiang moved up to sixth.

Elsewhere, in an exciting clash led by two former NBA stars, Qingdao Eagles' Tracy McGrady and Beijing Ducks' Stephon Marbury, bottom-placed Qingdao stunned the defending champion Beijing 104-101 in overtime yesterday.

Qingdao, which is enjoying its best run this season with four straight wins, also sent champion Beijing hurtling to its third straight loss.

Beijing slipped to third while Qingdao is just one win away from overtaking the Shanghai Sharks in the table.

Marbury scored a game-high 31 points as the Ducks struggled hard in the first half. The Eagles scored 41 points in the second quarter alone. McGrady had 15 points and 17 rebounds.

But Beijing rallied to tie the game at 97, less than 15 seconds before the end. McGrady had the ball for Qingdao's last offensive but it missed the basket as the crowd roared.

In overtime, Beijing was unable to make the impact expected of the champions.

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