By sportswriter Lin Deren
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- In the previous 22 CBA seasons, team Liaoning made into six finals series, but lost them all.
On Sunday, they will have their seventh chance, against regular season champion Zhejiang Guangsha in the 23th CBA finals in Hangzhou, home court of Guangsha. The winner of the best-of-seven series will become the seventh crowned CBA team, after Bayi, Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Sichuan and Xinjiang.
It will be the first finals for Guangsha, a strong team with strong scorers such as Courtney Fortson, Ioannis Bourousis, Hu Jinqiu and Lin Chih Chieh.
As the regular season champion, Guangsha experienced tough battles in the first two rounds of this season's playoffs. They edged arch-rivals Shenzhen 3-2 in the first round, and were once down 3-2 in the semifinal series against Shandong. Guangsha managed to beat Shandong 4-3 after two straight victories, but they played three more games than Liaoning, so fatigue will become a serious problem.
Fortson, who was elected MVP after the regular season, is regarded as one of the best team leaders in Guangsha's history. The great shooter is seen as the most dangerous scorer in Guangsha, who is the main target of every opponents' defenders.
Under rigorous defense, the point guard only shot 27 percent beyond the arc, but he could deliver 8.9 assists in previous playoff games, best in the league, and he converted 84 percent of his free-throw attempts into points. He averaged 27.2 points in the first two rounds.
Bourousis and Hu protected Guangsha's rim really well. The duo combined 18.9 rebounds and 33.8 points per game.
Lin played important role in Guangsha's key games, including a 32-point game against Shandong. The 35-year-old shooting guard can become hot-handed at any time.
Liaoning is one of the most competitive teams in the CBA league. The star-studded squad includes former NBA players Lester Hudson and Brandon Bass, and Chinese national team players such as Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei, Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu.
Hudson scored 28.6 points per game in the playoffs, best among all players in the Finals. Guo and Zhao are efficient in counter-attacks and Han is dominative in painting area because of his size.
It will be the fourth CBA finals for Liaoning head coach Guo Shiqiang. In two of the previous three series, Liaoning had home court advantage, but he failed to convert any of them into a title. The 42-year-old coach needs a title to prove himself as one of the best coaches in the league.
Guangsha head Coach Li Chunjiang had a much brighter resume. He had led Guangdong to the top place in CBA for eight times, and that will be a great help to Guangshain the finals series.
"Liaoning made into finals three times in the past four years, so we have to respect our opponent," said Li.
