Detained UCLA players en route back to U.S. from China

Three UCLA basketball players - including LiAngelo Ball - detained last week on suspicion of shoplifting in China flew back to the U.S. Tuesday, according to a statement by Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott.

The trio were seen at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, checking into a Delta flight bound for Los Angeles earlier in the day, according to the Wall Street Journal's James T. Arredy.

The news came hours after President Donald Trump, on an Asian tour, said he had asked Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to help resolve the case. ''They're working on it right now,'' Trump said from the Philippines.

Ball and fellow Bruins freshmen Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were detained last Tuesday after a reported theft of sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton boutique in the city of Hangzhou. The three did not play in UCLA's exhibition game, and had been ensconced in a hotel since the incident.