Antonio Blakeney (center) of Jiangsu Dragons vies for the ball during the playoff 1st round match between Shanghai Sharks and Jiangsu Dragons at the 2022-2023 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in east China's Shanghai, April 9, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The 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 CBA Disciplinary and Ethics Commission also said in a statement that Shanghai displayed negative contention in the second game of the series, while Jiangsu demonstrated a lack of competitive effort in the third game, in which Shanghai won 108-104 to advance.

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

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.

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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 Shanghai's head coach Li and Jiangsu's general managers Shi looked imposed on the bench without making any guidelines watching the bizarre performances of Jiangsu players.

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Melo Trimble (second left) of the Shanghai Sharks goes for a lay-up during a CBA playoff match against the Jiangsu Dragons in east China's Shanghai, April 14, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Yao Ming, China's basketball icon and current president of the CBA, expressed his deep grief over the latest punishments against the two teams.

Both teams have a long history. Jiangsu has competed in the CBA since its inaugural year (1995). Many milestone figures have been produced in the two teams' history, especially some Basketball Hall of Famers. The more we talk about this, the more grief we will feel.

Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association

"A quite saddening weekend," Yao admitted at a press conference organized by the CBA. "Both teams have a long history. Jiangsu has competed in the CBA since its inaugural year (1995). Many milestone figures have been produced in the two teams' history, especially some Basketball Hall of Famers. The more we talk about this, the more grief we will feel."

"We conducted a very prudent investigation to help us make the decision based on precise matters. We believe that everybody feels quite distressed about this," commented Yao.

"For sports games, the most important thing is reputation, rather than ability. Credit is what everybody, every team, the league, and the association is based on. We need to draw a profound lesson from this and change some things in the future to make what we have paid for valuable.

"That's all I can say. We need to express our steadfast attitude and grief at this moment," Yao concluded.

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Following Shanghai's disqualification, the CBA league's governing body ruled that the Shenzhen Aviators would advance to the final four in the CBA playoffs.

With Xinhua's inputs