Star duo's Sichuan switch spices up WCBA title race

The additions of Chinese national team players Li Meng and Sun Mengran have transformed Team Sichuan into red-hot title favorites for the forthcoming Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) season.

"Following positive negotiations, national team players Li Meng and Sun Mengran have joined Sichuan," read a statement from the club, which also acknowledged the role the stars' former team had played in their development.

Having acquired core Team China player Shao Ting in 2020, Sichuan reached the WCBA semifinals last season－its best ever performance in the competition.

Now, with Li and Sun also on board, Sichuan hopes to break the title stranglehold enjoyed by Beijing and Shanxi over the last decade.

Li averaged 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women in 2010 to become the first Chinese player to win an MVP award at a major international tournament.

After joining the national senior team in 2013, Li won Asian Games gold in 2018 and helped China reach the last eight at this summer's Tokyo Olympics, averaging 10.8 points per game.

"I'm so glad to join a team with such great unity and good prospects," said the 26-year-old. "I will bring my never-say-die spirit to the team and help it to achieve good results."

The small forward, nicknamed LeBron Meng by fans in reference to her idol LeBron James, was named WCBA Rookie of the Year in 2013, averaging 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

She improved her points average to 23.8, finished as the leading scorer among domestic players and claimed the regular-season MVP award in 2017-18, before retaining the honor the following year.