CBA imposes harshest-ever punishment on Jiangsu Dragons, Shanghai Sharks

Chinese Basketball Association on Monday imposed the harshest-ever punishment in league history on the Jiangsu Dragons and Shanghai Sharks for unsportsmanship conduct involving the two clubs.

Both clubs have been disqualified from the ongoing 2022-23 CBA season and will be each fined 5 million yuan ($727,000), with their leagues standings canceled, according to the CBA on Monday, following a controversial best-of-three playoff series between the two teams last week.

The Sharks' head coach Li Chunjiang, former mentor of 11-time league champion Guangdong Southern Tigers, and Jiangsu's head coach Li Nan, a former Chinese national squad coach, will be banned from registering as a basketball coach for five and three years, respectively, beginning from Monday, said the association.

Shi Linjie and Jiang Yusheng, general managers of Jiangsu and Shanghai, will be suspended from getting involved in any basketball-related jobs for five and three years, respectively.

The harsh penalty was imposed as a result of a league investigation into the playoff series, where both teams were found to be "intentionally indulging in throw games".

After dominating Jiangsu 119-95 in the series openers on April 9, Shanghai unexpectedly rested most of its starters and foreign players in the decisive Game 2, conceding a 97-90 loss to the Jiangsu on April 11 before the controversial Game 3, which has sparked raging anger from fans and criticism from media for apparent match-fixing plays during the game's ending stretch.

Leading 100-96 with 96 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Jiangsu players turned the ball over for five times in a row, allowing the Sharks to score 10 straight points without calling any timeout to readjust its defensive play. Both head coach Li and GM Shi looked imposed on the bench without making any guidelines watching the bizarre performances of Jiangsu players.