Ladies and Gentlemen, this is it. The showdown we've all been waiting for! The Sichuan Blue Whales taking on the Beijing Ducks. It promises to be as exciting as watching paint dry, if the paint was solid gold and dripped athleticism.
The Sichuan Blue Whales are showing up, that much we know, but much like a sneaky teenager, I'm afraid they're trying to do as little as possible. As for their stats, it seems someone may have misplaced them because all we've got are a bunch of goose eggs. Edmond Sumner and Yu Xiaoyong are headlining this game of hide-and-don't-play for Sichuan. Apparently, the sport they're most interested in is the "game of life" and currently, they are on the bench, but we'll see if they can pull it together.
On the other hand, we've got the Beijing Ducks. Their stats are so impressive this season they almost seem imaginary - so let's talk about last month instead. Eugene German has been pummeling the basket with an average of 19 points per game, and Richard Solomon is also doing some heavy lifting with 17 points per game. But let's not forget about Cairen Zhang and his all-around performance. Look for these guys to keep the scoreboard operator busy.
Now, if we examine the history books, it seems like the Sichuan Blue Whales have been taking basketball lessons from a guy named Murphy - because whatever can go wrong, has gone wrong for them in the past match-ups against Beijing. And as for the regular season records, well, let's just say Sichuan might get a participation trophy.
The recent outings for the Beijing Ducks, on the other hand, have tasted victory more times than loss, unlike the Whales, who, I suspect would be thrilled just to see the ball go through the hoop at this point.
In the standings, the tale of the tape couldn't be more different. Sichuan Blue Whales are stealthily holding the #18 position, you know, trying the old "lull-the-opponents-into-false-security" strategy. But the Beijing Ducks are not fooled, holding a strong #6 position.
With all that, unless the Blue Whales have a secret Michael Jordan in their locker room, I'd say their chances of pulling this one off are about as good as the chances of finding a polar bear in the Sahara.
Albert’s Prediction: Beijing Ducks by 34