UCLA players leaving China after Trump stepped in on their behalf

UCLA might have every player available for next week’s CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the three Bruins basketball players who were accused of shoplifting and under house arrest in Hangzhou, China, were seen at the airport in Shanghai boarding a plane for Los Angeles.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley missed UCLA’s game Friday against Georgia Tech in Shanghai as they were under house arrest at a hotel in Hangzhou after they were reportedly arrested on Nov. 7. They were expected to be held for 20 days, but that time apparently was reduced.

On Monday, President Trump said he had talked with Chinese president Xi Jinping about getting the players released.

“They’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters in the Philippines on Monday, per the Associated Press.

The rest of the UCLA team returned home on Saturday.

“What they did was unfortunate,” Trump said of the three players, per CBS. “You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences. They do not play games.”

UCLA faces Creighton on Nov. 20 in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center with Baylor and Wisconsin playing in the second game.

This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 8:40 AM with the headline "UCLA players leaving China after Trump stepped in on their behalf."