CHN - Liaoning's well-fed foreigners instrumental in team success

BEIJING (CBA) - Liaoning are in the CBA play-off finals for the first time in nine years.

And it's due in large part to their foreign duo of Olumide Oyedeji and Jamal Sampson.

Oyedeji only joined the team after playing in the regular season with Beijing.

He's been immense.

"The coaches, teammates are very friendly to me," he said, referring to matters both on and off the court.

"I'm always pleased with the response of any request I have.

"Sometimes, for example, I felt hungry in the middle of the night and the club sent people to buy me some western food.

"It really touched me."

It's not just a full belly that's helped Oyedeji play his best. He wants to succeed because Liaoning's coaches keep him involved.

The Nigeria international said: "Liaoning pay more attention to the interior (game). My coaches and teammates trust me a lot as they focus on the interior while coming up with the tactics.

"Statistics are not important to me, though. I don't mind scoring no points in order to get my teammates more help. I can get rebounds, I can defend, I can score, but all these are to help our team win."

Sampson, an American who spent last season with Frankfurt in Germany, played to the stereotype of some foreigners who compete in China when he first arrived this season.

His primary concern was not scoring, or playing defense, but making sure he got paid.

"It's my first time visiting China, my agent told me that some Chinese clubs don't have credibility," he said.

"They even delay the players' payment.

"(But) I'm pleased with 75,000 US dollars per month they have paid me.

"I was worried about their ability to pay. When I received my payment on time, though, I didn't worry too much anymore."

Sampson has had somewhat of a transformation in the post-season.

"First of all, I thought making the play-offs would be enough for me, so I went back to Panpan (Liaoning) after the play-offs started," he said.

"I wasn't playing well and was suffering from jet-lag for the first few days.

"My teammates and coaches never complain about me, though. They encourage me all the time."

Sampson says he even drew inspiration from his teammates in the club's 3-1 semi-final series victory over Jiangsu.

"When I saw them fighting hard against Bayi, I was touched," he said. "I started to change my outlook, knowing that I must do my best."

They will have to be very good in the finals to beat Guangdong, who won three successive titles and even reached last year's championship showdown before falling to Bayi."

The CBA Finals tip off on Wednesday.

FIBA