3 UCLA players still in China as team leaves

The UCLA basketball team is heading back to Los Angeles without three players arrested on shoplifting charges in China, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Saturday.

Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were to remain in Hangzhou, China, while the rest of the team was due back Saturday night.

The No. 21 Bruins won their season-opening game over Georgia Tech 63-6-0 in Shanghai earlier in the day.

The trio was questioned by police about allegedly stealing from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel in Hangzhou last week.

Citing a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation, ESPN reported the players could be Hangzhou for “a week or two” while the situation is resolved. The source told ESPN there is surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from three stores inside a high-end retail center.