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CBA Roundup: Xinjiang, Liaoning reach semifinals, Shenzhen ties Shanghai 2-2

Xinhua, March 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

Xinjiang beat Shandong 108-102 to win the first round of 2016-2017 CBA playoff 3-1 while Liaoning also advanced into the semifinals after beating Guangsha 112-106 to end the best-of-five series on Friday. Shenzhen beat Shanghai 100-93 to tie the series at 2-2.

A 33-17 third quarter helps Xinjiang came from a 45-60 first half to beat Shandong. Ding Yanyuhang, the newly-crowned regular season MVP, also found himself facing Xinjiang's best defender during the entire match and only scored 15, eight of which came from the free-throws. The host just gave Xinjiang too many chances to make free-throws as their opponent scored 29 from 37 attempts while Shandong was only 20-of-25.

Andray Blatche led Xinjiang with a match-high 32 points and 14 rebounds. He also dished out five assists. Darius Adams added 21. Shandong's A.J. Price finished with 29 but his teammate Jason Thompson helped with only eight.

Xinjiang will play against Liaoning in semifinals which will start next Friday. In their 112-106 win over Guangsha, six Liaoning players scored in double-digits. Lester Hudson led Liaoning with 26 points, eight rebounds and nine assists while Guo Ailun added 22 and eight boards. Han Dejun finished with a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Liaoning's 12-0 run in the later final period denied Courtney Fortson's match-high 35 points for Guangsha and also the whole team's hard-working of the entire season. It is the seventh straight season for Guangsha to be eliminated in the first round of CBA playoff.

The final berth of semifinals will go to the winner of Shanghai and Shenzhen after Sunday's match. Cai Liang's three-pointer helped Shanghai to trail by only two points with one minute and 50 seconds to the end of the match. But Jimmer Fredette, who finished with a match-high 39, made a turnover and missed the chance to tie the score. Shenzhen never wasted the chance to take the fourth match and to tie the series at 2-2. Endit