Shandong Golden Stars will be facing the lowly team of Bayi Rockets in the battle of the struggling teams in the upcoming 20th round of the 22nd season of the Chinese Basketball Association on Friday night.

The Golden Stars and the Rockets will be both coming in to the game with a loss against their respective opponents in the last round. Shandong yielded to Qingdao Eagles with a 93-71 defeat, while Bayi was beaten by Shanxi Brave Dragons, 114-101.

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According to Asia-Basket, Shandong currently own a 9-10 win-loss record and they are now tied with the teams of Sichuan Blue Whales and Jilin Northeast Tigers for the 10th to 12th place in the Chinese league's team standing. They have won seven matches at home and claimed two victories on the road.

The Golden Stars are on a three-game losing skid and have lost four of the last five matches they played. They will be looking to get back into the winning column and improve their chances in making it to the playoffs with the season coming on its 12th week and with 19 games remaining to play.

Bayi, which owns a disappointing 3-16 win-loss card and dwells in the bottom low of the team standing, cannot afford to make some more loses as the regular season nearing its climax. They are expected to be carried by Chinese guards Shuo Han and Lei Meng.

Meanwhile, Shandong is likely to be paced by the team's local player JingYu Li. According to the box score of the EuroBasket, the 25-year-old 6-foot-6-inches tall forward scored 25 points against Qingdao with the team's foreign reinforcement Jason Thompson struggling offensively.

The Golden Stars are also the highly favored team to win the battle. Shandong ranked no. 18 in the 20-team Chinese league with the highest points produced per game (98.1ppg) and they placed no. 11 in the rebounds department (41.7 rpg). Bayi ranked last in both categories.

Tagschinese basketball association, Shandong Golden Stars, Bayi Rockets, Jason Thompson