Guangdong edges Dongguan to face Beijing in CBA semis

Guangdong edged out Dongguan 102-89 and won the best-of-five series 3-1 here on Wednesday, setting up a semifinal clash against bitter rival Beijing at the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league.

Ike Diogu scored a game-high 28 points for Dongguan, while Yi Jianlian scored 26 points and Will Bynum 21 for Guangdong.

"It was a tough match," said Guangdong coach Du Feng. "Dongguan did very well in defence. I am glad to see we have less turnovers than in last game."

Guangdong led the first quarter 29-18 as Dong Hanlin scored nine points in five minutes to help the visiting team dominate the paint with a 20-2 run.

Diogu stood out for Dongguan, single-handedly cutting the deficit to one digit in the beginning of the second quarter.

Gu Quan then made two of two three-pointers and Diogu added another, closing the gap to three points before Will Bynum broke through Donguan's defence to keep Guangdong 53-46 ahead at half time.

With more pressing in defence, the two teams found themselves harder to score in the third quarter. Thanks to Yi Jianlian's slam dunk and Ren Junfei's three-pointer, Guangdong kept a two-digit lead at the end of third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw Guangdong lead by 14 points as Wang Shipeng and Yi Jianlian made two shots. Dongguan missed the final chance to close up with four minutes to go, when they lost two defensive rebounds, only to see Guangdong pull away four more points to clinch the victory.

"It's very hard to say goodbye to this season," said Dongguan coach Li Qun. "But we kept fighting to the last second. My boys will be improving and we will come back next season." Endi