2018 CBA Finals Review - Zhejiang vs Liaoning
- TTN
- Apr 22, 2018
- 3 min read
The final prize, the Chinese Basketball Association trophy, held aloft. Image: Xinhua
Twenty teams started the CBA season, then there were just two - it was the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions vs the Liaoning Flying Leopards for the CBA title.
While Zhejiang had never made it this far before, this was Liaoning's fifth visit to the finals - unsuccessful the first four attempts, they would be hoping this time they would bring the trophy home. With unprecedented circumstances, it was impossible to know how this finals series was going to go down.
Liaoning began the finals on a high, taking an early eleven-point lead over Zhejiang. With the better show on their offensive end, though, Zhejiang erased the gap between the teams down to one just before halftime. The Lions' trio of Courtney Fortson, Lin Chih-Chieh and Ioannis Bourousis were getting it all done for the team - Fortson led all in scoring and assists with 33 points and 12 dimes, Lin put up seven threes and Bourousis had a great show on defence to go with 17 points in the game.
Liaoning brushed off this setback, though, and caused a lot of trouble for Zhejiang in the paint. Brandon Bass, Guo Ailun and Lester Hudson all scored over twenty points in the contest, with Bass also grabbing ten total rebounds to go with his team-high 28. With Zhejiang unable to stop them, Liaoning win the first game of the series, 120-108.
Zhejiang came out firing in game two, and lead by double-digits at the end of the first quarter. Courtney Fortson and Zheng Liu began big scoring efforts here as they both went on their way to thirty-point games - 39 and 32 points respectively, with Fortson one rebound short of a double-double. Liaoning then stepped up their defence and play in the field to hold off Zhejiang and slowly erase their arrears. Going a long way to help Liaoning’s comeback was Lester Hudson, who had an amazing all-around game with 45 points, 6 assists and 4 blocks. Dejun Han put up 22 points.
Zhejiang tried to hold on to the lead for as long as they could, but a six-point run from Liaoning late in the game saw the scores tied at 107 at the final buzzer, and in overtime they finally pounced. They took their first lead of the game, and Zhejiang were running on empty and had nothing left to give. Liaoning went 2-0 up with a five-point overtime victory.
Game three saw another frenzied start from the Flying Leopards, who led by seventeen points at the end of ten minutes. Liaoning had a great scoring show from the beginning, which saw Hudson and Guo Ailun both finish with 26 points in the game for the team who also saw double-doubles from Dejun Han and Brandon Bass.
Zhejiang slowly gained ground throughout the remainder of the game, which became more competitive as it went on. An amazing 46 points from Fortson was a big aid to the Lions' comeback attempt, as was a double-double (18 points and 13 rebounds) from Jinqiu Hu and a big effort on their defensive end from Ioannis Bourousis. Rejuvenated, Zhejiang took over in the second half and narrowed the gap down to a two-possession game, but unrelenting Liaoning managed to hang on at the end by just four. Having braved the scare, they were now one win away from lifting the trophy.
Liaoning’s plans for a clean sweep of the finals were interrupted by Zhejiang, who took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes and took an early double-digit lead. Brandon Bess then stepped up for Liaoning, leading the team to tighten the deficit to two at the end of the first period. Liaoning took the lead in the second quarter, but big, physical play from Zhejiang kept the contest tight.
With Zhejiang losing their momentum and more and more attempts coming up short in the second half, Liaoning pounced. With the superior shooting show, they kept widening the gap as the game wound down. Helpless Zhejiang, meanwhile, floundered. Jinqiu Hu managed to finish with 26 points, while Bourousis worked hard on the defensive boards on his way to a double-double of 10 points and 13 total rebounds. Courtney Fortson, meanwhile, was one assist shy of a triple-double, as he finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Liaoning now have the first prize in their history to show for all the effort and hard work they put in to a dominant run throughout the playoffs. Averaging 30.5 points across the four games, their own Lester Hudson was named Finals MVP. The Liaoning Flying Leopards' were worthy victors at the end of a most entertaining and game-changing CBA season.
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