Shenzhen Marco Polo secured a hard-fought 95-91 road victory over Zhejiang Chouzhou on May 9, sweeping the best-of-three quarterfinal series 2-0 to punch their ticket to the CBA semifinals for the first time in three seasons.
The win marks a significant redemption for Shenzhen. In the 2022-23 season, they held a 2-1 series lead over Zhejiang but saw it slip away after Cheng Shuai Peng hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 4 to force a decisive Game 5. Zhejiang then edged Shenzhen 91-90 in Game 5 on another clutch basket from Cheng, dashing Shenzhen’s hopes of reaching the finals.
This time, Shenzhen showed resilience and composure on the road to close out the series. They will now face the winner of the Guangsha versus Shanxi series in the semifinals. Currently, that series is tied 1-1, with Game 3 set to determine the opponent. The semifinals are scheduled to tip off on May 15.