Guangdong top Shandong to take 2-0 Finals lead
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E-mail Xinhua, March 25, 2013
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Yi Jianlian goes up for a dunk in Game 2 of CBA Finals. |
Yi Jianlian shone in the first half with 26 points and 11 rebounds to steer Guangdong Hongyuan to a 93-82 win over Shandong Gold in Game 2 of the Chinese Association league (CBA) finals on Sunday.
Guangdong Hongyuan, which rallied to beat Shandong Gold 88-81 on Friday in Game 1, are now within two victories from their eighth CBA title.
Although no team could overcome a 2-0 deficit in the finals to win the championship in the league's 18-year franchise history, Yi refused to get carried away.
"We should never think about that (a 2-0 lead). If we take it for granted, such a detail may change the results. What we need to do is to have a good rest and fully prepare for the next game," said the 25-year-old power forward.
Yi paced the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Teammate Wang Shipeng and Donald Sloan helped with 14 points and 10 points respectively.
Shandong opened the game with a 3-pointer from Sui Ran, but Yi soon delighted the home fans with two spectacular slam dunks and six points in a row. Guangdong built a 21-15 lead after the first period.
Shandong began to find the rhythm as they cut the deficit down to two points thanks to Pooh Jeter's 3-pointer. Both teams were dragged into a head-to-head battle and traded advantage later. Yi became the hero again with a 3-pointer and a dunk as the home team held a nine-point advantage into halftime.
After opening the last 12 minutes with a 66-58 lead, Ike Diogu succeeded a 3-point attempt, while Shandong's Jackson Vroman responded with a lay-up and assist for a 3-pointer. Shandong only trailed by six points midway through this quarter. However, their coach Gong Xiaobin complained to the referee that Diogu fouled in rebounding, only to be called for a technical foul.
Diogu converted one of two free throws, and later drew cheers from home supporters with an excellent dunk. Zhu Fangyu's three-point play helped Guangdong extend the margin to 12 points, a comfortable lead to secure the home win.
"This is an important victory for us and has great impact on this series," Guangdong's coach Du Feng said.
"Both teams suffered several turnovers in the first half. Fortunately, we made adjustments at halftime, which took effect in the second half. This match can be regarded as the best one we ever played in series," he added.
Shandong's Zaid Abbass finished with 22 points, while Jeter only collected 13 points due to low shooting percentage.
"We've found our weakness through these two games. We will spare no efforts in the next game," said Gong Xiaobin.
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