CBA Playoffs: Xinjiang maul Liaoning to storm into finals

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Xinjiang Flying Tigers thrashed a hapless Liaoning 99-62 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoffs to storm into the finals.

Playing at home, Xinjiang notched up an unassailable 4-1 lead after winning Game 5 of their best of seven semifinal series on Thursday.

Liaoning looked good early in the game as Guo Shiqiang clinched a three-pointer before Lester Hudson's layup made it 5-2.

But 2017 champions Xinjiang's Kay Felder tied it at 11 with a deep three and the hosts ended the first quarter with a 26-19 lead.

When Abdusalam Abdurixit tipped it in, Xinjiang extended their lead to 37-26 midway through the second quarter.

However, it was a rough night for Hudson who went down hard as the two-time International MVP played for 31 minutes and scored only five points.

The third quarter saw Abdusalam hitting three straight three-pointers to give the Flying Tigers a lead of 28 while a long jumper from Yu Changdong during a 20-5 spurt for the hosts made it 71-41.

Yang retires

Xinjiang were leading by as many as 41 points in the fourth quarter and went on to win the game without facing any serious challenge from the visitors. In the finals, they will face the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

After the game, Yang Ming, the 34-year-old captain of Liaoning, officially announced his retirement.

Xinjiang coach Adiljan Suleyman said, "Liaoning is a team worth respecting, and even though they lost by many points, the Flying Leopards still tried their best until the end of the game. But our players did a good job on defense, and they put my strategy into effect very well, so we got the final win."

This will be the fifth time that Guangdong and Xinjiang will meet in the CBA finals. This year's best of seven championship series tips off next Friday in Dongguan, and follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

The first three meetings between Guangdong and Xinjiang in the title round ended badly for the team from northwestern China.

The Flying Tigers made their debut in the finals in 2009, looking to prevent the Southern Tigers from repeating and winning a fifth overall championship.

But the side from the south showed why they were well on their way to collecting eight titles in ten years, as they brushed aside Xinjiang 4-1.

The Flying Tigers got another shot at the ring one year later, only to come away empty handed yet again.

Although the margin in each loss was narrowed to single digits, the Southern Tigers prevailed 4-1 for the second straight year, lifting their third consecutive trophy, and sixth in total.

The third time they met was in 2011 when Guangdong were pushed to six games by Xinjiang, but still won their fourth straight title, and seventh overall.

It would be six years before they met again at the final stage, with the Flying Tigers sweeping the Southern Tigers 4-0 to claim their maiden crown in 2017, at last.

(Cover photo via Xinhua News Agency)