Sichuan Blue Whales put the exceptional scoring of Jimmer Fredette to vain as they defeated the top-ranked Shanghai Sharks in the 30^th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Sunday.

The league's defending champions got the better of the current best performing team of the regular season with a 122-116 victory to hold a fighting chance of making it to the final eight and reach the playoffs.

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Last season's Finals MVP Hamed Haddadi finished the game with another spectacular double-double game performance of 38 points and 22 rebounds along with four blocked shots.

The veteran Iranian center got ample support from his Chinese teammates with starters Meng Da and Wang Ruheng contributing 24 points and 14 points, respectively. ChunJun Zhang had a double-double production of 12 markers and 10 boards, and Chen Tsai added 11 points for the Blue Whales.

Fredette, the current scoring leader of the Chinese league, paced Shanghai with an amazing 50 points while local player Liu Xiaoyu had 19 points. The Sharks suffered their fifth loss of the season but remain on the top of the table with 25 wins.

According to Asia-Basket, the victory was the Blue Whales' 16^th in 30 games played. Sichuan is currently at the ninth place in the league's team standings but still have the chance to breaking into the CBA's final eight.

The Blue Whales are just one win behind current eighth-ranked Beijing Ducks, who have a 17-13 win-loss record. Although the Ducks are on a two-game winning streak, the defending champs can still push to have a place in the final eight with eight rounds remaining to be played in the regular season.

Sichuan will play Fujian in the next round on Tuesday before they face the team of Shanxi Brave Dragons on February 5. The Blue Whales defeated the Sturgeons in their first encounter this season, but they yielded to the Brave Dragons in their initial meeting.

TagsHamed Haddadi, Sichuan Blue Whales, Shanghai Sharks, Jimmer Fredette, chinese basketball association