Kyle Wiltjer (R) of Zhejiang Lions in action during the CBA 2022-2023 playoff semifinal against the Zhejiang Lions, in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Long Lei)
Liaoning and Zhejiang shared the spoils in their two regular season encounters. As they come onto the grandest stage in China's professional basketball league, who will have the last laugh this time?
by sportswriters Su Bin, Xia Liang and Zhang Yifei
BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Once on the brink of elimination, two higher-ranked teams in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) regular season managed to come through thrillers and are set to face off in a title-contending showdown.
Kicking off on Monday, the Finals will pit defending champions the Liaoning Flying Leopards against the regular season's top-ranked side the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, who made into the Finals for the first time in their franchise history.
The 2022-23 season bore witness to an unprecedented scenario where both two finalists emerged through the decisive game, whether in best-of-three, best-of-five or best-of-seven formats for the first time in the league's 28-year history.
Without star guard Guo Ailun in the last three semifinal games due to a leg strain, Liaoning showcased how postseason experience could prevail in crunch time, as veteran post players Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu played a big role in steering their comeback in the series.
"Our veterans have shown strong willpower. There are some rumors saying they are not competitive, but that's because these people don't watch basketball games often," Liaoning coach Yang Ming said after their Game 4 win against the Zhejiang Lions.
Guo Ailun (front) of the Liaoning Flying Leopards in action against the Zhejiang Lions on April 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)
Guo averaged 14.8 points in the playoffs, but more significant than stats is his capability of penetrating into the paint. His absence had a massive impact on Liaoning's offense and rotation, meaning Kyle Fogg had to be put into the starting lineup and play more minutes alongside playmaker Zhao Jiwei, and some role players like Yan Shouqi had to take on more responsibilities.
After Liaoning forced a decisive Game 5, Guo thanked his teammates on social media for their dedication to earn himself a chance of returning to the court this season, joking that he would buy a kilogram of strawberries to treat them.
Despite Guo's absence, Zhao made huge contributions to Liaoning's offense, as he registered a double-double in points and assists in the last three semifinal games.
Playing his third season, small forward Zhang Zhenlin has improved his offense to a new level, scoring 20-plus points in each of Liaoning's last two victories in the semifinals.
Apart from Zhang, Liaoning's frontline also has Cong Mingchen and Fu Hao, who can leave their mark on the game coming off the bench.
One point was enough to decide who advances to the finals, as the Golden Bulls won Game 4 and 5 by the same margin to dump the Shenzhen Aviators out of title contention.
Wu Qian, Jarmar Gulley and Lu Wenbo (from 1st L to 2nd R) of Zhejiang Golden Bulls celebrate a basket during their CBA regular season match against the Shandong Heroes in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Zhenhai)
The Golden Bulls would have seen their season's campaign brought to an earlier end without Cheng Shuaipeng's buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 4, but they managed to escape from that and protected their home court through another glittering offensive display from Cheng in the series decider.
Zhejiang have already earned tremendous recognition through their performance in the regular season, where they claimed the top spot for the first time ever, with sharpshooter Wu Qian winning the Sixth Man of Year award, Wang Shilong named Coach of the Year, and Liu Zeyi taking away the Most Improved Player award.
Admittedly, it was a tough semifinal series for Wu, who was held to an average of 13.4 points with 31.8 percent shooting down the stretch, as he often found himself double-teamed against Shenzhen guards Bai Haotian, Rong Zifeng or Sun Haoqin. But Cheng stepped up to take on the bulk of the offensive workload to help Wu.
Injuries began to pop up as the series went deep. Besides Guo, Zhejiang Lions center Hu Jinqiu, Shenzhen center Shen Zijie and Zhejiang Golden Bulls forward Jarmar Gulley missed some semifinal games, and the absence of Hu and Shen from Game 5 diminished their teams' hope of marching on.
In the Finals between traditional and emerging powerhouses, an interesting matchup is expected to take place in the backcourt, as Liaoning boast the combo of Zhao, Guo and Fogg, while Zhejiang hinge on Wu, Cheng, Lu Wenbo and Wang Yibo.
It will be a battle between two generations in the paint, as Zhejiang's sophomore center Yu Jiahao can test his progress against Han, who is 15 years his senior.
Liaoning are heading for their fourth consecutive Finals appearance, as they won their second title last season following back-to-back losses to the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
Looking ahead to the Finals, Yang said, "Zhejiang are the regular season champions, and have displayed their strong competitiveness in the playoffs. We will challenge them as underdogs."
"You deserve the Finals with your efforts and dedication. You can be better, just trust yourselves," Wang told his players in the locker room after Zhejiang reached the Finals.
His players are clear-minded as well. "Enjoy the process [in the Finals]," said Cheng.
Liaoning and Zhejiang shared the spoils in their two regular season encounters. As they come onto the grandest stage in China's professional basketball league, who will have the last laugh this time? ■
