Seven of the eight playoff berths were settled down after Fujian SBS and Bayi Fubang won on Wednesday in the 29th round, the penultimate round of the regular season of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA).

Fujian held down a comeback to beat Shanghai Sharks 88-84 while Bayi trounced Yunnan Honghe 125-99 to take the sixth and seventh places respectively, on identical record of 17 wins and 12 loss. The pair will decide the final placing on a meeting in the last round on Friday.

The eighth-placed Shandong Flaming Bulls, which defeated Dongguan Marco Polo 120-113 at home, has two matches in hand - one to play against the bottom Shanxi Zhongy on Friday and the other against Jilin Northeast Tigers on Sunday.

Trailing by one point on the ninth with a record of 15-14, Beijing Ducks, which beat Jilin 99-96, had the theoretical chance to overpass Shandong if the Ducks defeats the fourth-placed Liaoning Hunters on the last round and Shandong loses both.

Leader Guangdong Hongyuan edged off Jiangsu Dragons 125-114 to keep its placing while the second-placed Xinjiang Guanghui went through with a 108-75 victory over Zhejiang Cyclones.

Liaoning moved one step up after beating Shanxi 127-87 while Zhejiang Guangsha beat Shannxi Weilixin 101-91 in the game with nothing on stake.

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2008)