Guangdong crashes defending champion Beijing 117-87 in CBA League

Guangdong revenged its defeats in last season's semifinal by beating Beijing 117-87 at home in the 26th round of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League on Sunday.

Ike Diogu had 32 points and 16 rebounds, while Yi Jianliang and Zhou Peng each contributed 30 points to Guangdong. The home team's defense was effective from the start to the end.

Zhou Peng and Diogu's 3-pointers enlarged its advantages in the third quarter when Beijing had narrowed the gap into only six points.

The defending champions lost to Guangdong for the first time in the season. Beijing ever edged Guangdong in the season's first meeting, and eliminated the old rivals in the semifinals of last season.

Randolph Morris led Beijing with 30 points, but Beijing failed to catch up with several 3-pointers missed at the start of the fourth quarter.

The table leader Xinjiang was smashed by current runner-ups Sichuan 112-106. Hamed Haddadi snatched 35 points and 15 rebounds, helping Sichuan get its eight consecutive victory since Dec 18 last year. The 30-year-old center defended his "Asian Best Center" title when facing Chinese rising star Zhou Qi.

After this round, Xinjiang remains in the first place on the CBA standings, but with one more victory than Sichuan and Guangsha. Beijing fell to the seventh place, likely missing the ticket to the play-offs. Enditem