2018 CBA Playoffs Semi Finals Review

Image: CFP Photo/CGTN.com

China' joint-most successful team, the Guangdong Southern Tigers, were on ground familiar to them in the CBA semi finals. However, they were on the backfoot in this semi-final tie against the second-seed Liaoning Flying Leopards, who were looking good after a convincing victory over Beijing in the quarter finals.

Short-handed Gunagdong did their best in game one, leading for the first three quarters, but there was only so much a good show on defence from Yi Jianlian and 22 points from Donald Sloan could get them. Lioaning outlasted their more seasoned opponents and overpowered them from the field. Three Liaoning players scored above 20 points and Dejuan Han had 16 points and 14 rebounds as they managed to turn the game around in the fourth quarter, winning 95 points to 90.

After going down by four early in game two, Guangdong responded on offence to lead by five at half time. Six Guangdong players scored in double figures and had to work well as a team to keep themselves in this one. Liaoning, though, had the greater depth of the two teams, which paid off for them particularly in the third quarter. With Guangdong out of steam and giving away too many fouls, Liaoning took advantage and put themselves ahead 75-62 at the end of three periods.

There was a good three-point shooting game from both teams in this game, with 13 threes from Guangdong and Liaoning putting up 14, eight of which came from Lester Hudson, the game’s standout with 38 points and 8 rebounds. A late effort from Guangdong would not be enough for them, as Liaoning put themselves up by two in the series, seeing out the win 101-95.

It was a similar story in game three - Guangdong got off to a flying start and led by nine at the half, thanks largely to 24 points from Andrew Nicholson. Once again, though, they could not maintain their form and opened the door for Liaoning to take over down the stretch. Outscoring Guangdong by 29 points in the third, Liaoning rallied home to a comfortable win, 96 points to 84. Lester Hudson led all scorers in this third game with 29 points for the Flying Leopards.

Staring elimination in the face, Guangdong held Liaoning to just nine points in the first quarter, and were ahead 53-24 at half time. Yi Jianlian outshone everyone on the offensive end, he finished the game with 31 points, while Ren Junfei took care of Guangdong’s defence.

Coming back to the court after half time, Liaoning were near-unrecognisable from their first half showing. Lester Hudson had a good all-around performance, recording 22 points and 8 rebounds, while Brandon Bass would finish with a double-double off the bench with 13 points and 11 boards. Lioaning were rampant in their pursuit of the lead, netting almost a third of their points in the game in the fourth quarter. An improved scoring show from Guangdong saw them keep their series alive as they won game four by eight points.

It was a close affair all the way through game five, though Liaoning had the early lead by four. With Guangdong at greater strength and displaying a new and improved form, Liaoning would find their lead hard to defend. The Tigers communicated well and pressured their opponents on offence, and with a standout performance from Yi, who had 39 points and 10 rebounds, they kept the scoreline tight and tied it up ahead of the fourth quarter.

It was there, though, that Guangdong lost it: their form dropped as well as more and more shot attempts falling short, and Liaoning took full advantage. They were smooth and composed from the field, where they made more than half of all their shots attempts, and sank ten threes, the most coming from top scorer Lester Hudson who had 34 total points. Brandon Bass also contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

At the end of a blowout fourth quarter with the scoreline 111-97 in their favour, the Flying Leopards won both the series 4-1 and also a place in this year's CBA Finals. They will face either the Shandong Golden Stars or Zhejiang Lions, whose semi final tie is ongoing. Check back here for a forthcoming review of both this tie and the Finals.