CBA: Defending champs Guangdong win Game 1 of Finals against Liaoning
Li Jing
Yi Jianlian shoots the ball during the first leg of the CBA Final in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, August 11, 2020. /VCG

Yi Jianlian shoots the ball during the first leg of the CBA Final in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, August 11, 2020. /VCG

Defending champion Guangdong Southern Tigers are just one step away from the title as they sweep Liaoning Flying Leopards 110-88 during the first leg of the final of the 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Tuesday in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. 

Guangdong's Weems had a game-high 28 points, captain Zhou Peng collected 20 points, while Yi Jianlian, MVP of the regular season who is back from injury, got two points and nine rebounds.

Guangdong built a 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Flying Leopards managed to catch up and took the lead for a brief period at 11-10. The period ran out at 25-24.

The first leg game of the CBA Final between Guangdong Southern Tigers and Liaoning Flying Leopards in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, August 11, 2020. /VCG

The first leg game of the CBA Final between Guangdong Southern Tigers and Liaoning Flying Leopards in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, August 11, 2020. /VCG

The second quarter saw poor defense in Liaoning which fell five points behind Guangdong at 55-50 after the session was end.   

Guangdong dominated the third quarter while Liaoning took a comeback lead 73-72, later the Southern Tigers maintained a seven-point advantage before the last quarter 80-73. 

Liaoning's defense got worse in the last quarter which gave Guangdong the opportunity to win the game at 110-88. 

Game 2 of the final will be held on Thursday.