CBA: Guangdong Southern Tigers retain title to end Covid-19 season
- Yao Ming awards regular season champions their 10th Chinese Basketball Association finals trophy
- Injured veteran Yi Jianlian wins sixth ring while Sonny Weems named finals MVP in 2-1 series win over Liaoning Flying Leopards
The Guangdong Southern Tigers defeated the Liaoning Flying Leopards to win the Chinese Basketball Association play-off finals in Qingdao on Saturday night and bring an end to the coronavirus-disrupted season.
Guangdong, who were reigning champions after sweeping the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 4-0 in last year’s finals, won this year’s abridged best of three finals with a 123-115 win in the decider in front of a handful of fans.
Victory secured a 10th CBA championship for the team, who also set a regular season winning streak record of 29 on their way to being regular season champions. They were handed the trophy by CBA chairman Yao Ming.
Liaoning had beaten the favourites in game two to leave the series finely balanced and the first quarter lived up to that billing, with neither team able to establish dominance.
The lead was never more than seven points and as the buzzer went it was the Flying Leopards who went off the court three points to the good, winning 29-26.