Guangdong sweep Shandong to win 8th Chinese Basketball Association Championship

The Chinese Basketball league is now 18 years old, just entering its state in adulthood. And in its 18th season, the league took another big jump into respectability, featuring a better-than-ever mix of new superstar players and well-coached teams. But by the time the dust settled and the CBA Finals came to an end, the glory belonged to one of the league’s traditional powerhouses again. The Guangdong Southern Tigers, in their 11th consecutive trip to the CBA Finals (!), won the title in a dominating 4-0 sweep over the Shandong Lions. This victory gave Guangdong their eighth CBA Championship, tying them with the Bayi Rockets for most championships won in China.

After a surprise loss to the Beijing Ducks in the Finals last year, Guangdong made sure that there will be no upsets this time around. Guangdong beat Shandong by an average of 13 points per game in the four-game sweep. Yi Jianlian of the Southern Tigers – who was named the domestic MVP of the league – also won the Finals MVP award, averaging 20 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the Finals. In the clinching game at home in Guangdong, Yi had 24 and 13 to lead five players in double figures to win the game 94-74 and lift the trophy.

The result was never in doubt. Guangdong have been the most consistently dominant team in China for over a decade, and after a surprise loss to Beijing in the Finals last year, bounced back this season on a mission for redemption. Guangdong went 28-4 through the course of the season, finishing at top place in the league. Guangdong have the advantage of featuring the top Chinese players, many of whom comprise the backbone of China’s national team. Returning from an unsuccessful NBA stint, Yi Jianlian was back to becoming the poster-boy of the league and the best player for Guangdong. The team also featured Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu. Unlike many other teams in China, Guangdong made better use of the foreigners in their squad, who weren’t asked to dominate but asked to become a part of the system. In the playoffs, Ike Diogu and Donald Sloan became an important part of their rotation, while Terrence Williams was cut at the end of the season and joined the Boston Celtics.

Guangdong continued their dominant run into the post-season, going undefeated throughout to win a championship, defeating Zhejiang and Xinjiang 3-0 and 3-0 in the first and second rounds respectively before the Finals sweep over Shandong.

It was the end of a fairytale season for Shandong. The Lions ended last season as one of the worst teams in the league, but the addition of Jordanian Zaid Abbas to the core of American players Jackson Vroman and Pooh Jeter helped this team finish in second place in the season and pull an surprising 3-0 victory over the defending champions Beijing in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

Guangdong’s victory once again highlights the disparity of talent and coaching in the league. Out of the 18 CBA seasons, two teams – Bayi and Guangdong – have won 16 of the titles. Bayi dominated the league in its early days, but ever since other teams began to pay big money to talented foreign players, Bayi – the Army team who doesn’t allow foreigners – slowed down. And ever since, the championship has mostly belonged to Guangdong. The only other teams in China to lift the titles have been the Shanghai Sharks with Yao Ming back in 2002, and the Beijing Ducks led by Stephon Marbury last year.

This season, which began with the hype of former NBA All Stars like Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas joining the league, finally belonged to a Chinese player, Yi Jianlian. Yi, who got his start in Guangdong, tried his luck in the NBA, and then returned to Guangdong and to glory again. The scary thing about Guangdong’s dominance is that the team and the system seem to have gotten stronger as the season progressed, and there is no reason why they wouldn’t be at the top of the hill once again this time next year. Even a potential loss of Yi to the NBA (if he gets a chance to return) may not stand in their way.

Chinese Basketball Association: Regular Season Round-Up & a Preview of the Playoffs

This article was first published on February 19, 2012 on Court Side.

China’s Basketball Calendar roughly parallels their zodiac calendar. By the first week of February, the Year of the Dragon concluded in China, and the Chinese New Year also coincided closely with the end of the regular season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Now begins the Year of the Snake, and the CBA playoffs will begin about two weeks into the New Year. It’s a time for fresh beginnings and new starts. Once the haze of the festival celebratory fireworks clears, the picture ahead will get clearer.

The professional league in China has taken major strides forward each year since its inception just 18 years ago. This year, a slew of more stars including Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, and the returning Yi Jianlian joined the league that already featured big names like Stephon Marbury and several big name Chinese superstars. It made for an exciting few months of basketball. The questions now begin as we look ahead: Who has the best chance of moving forward to capture the CBA championship? Who will be the big surprises and the big disappointments? Which team can leave the Dragon behind and welcome the Snake with fireworks on court?

Eight of the 17 total teams in the league have qualified for the post-season, which is set to begin on February 27th. The eight qualified teams play the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-five challenge, before moving to best-of-seven in the semi-finals and Finals, which will conclude around the end of March.

The teams who have qualified for the playoffs are: Guangdong, Shandong, Beijing, Xinjiang, Liaoning, Guangsha, Dongguan, and Zhejiang.

Last year’s finalists, winners of seven CBA championships, and by far the strongest team this season, the Guangdong Southern Tigers are looking in top form to return to the Finals for the 11th straight year! Guangdong have become China’s marquee team, featuring many of the best players from China’s national squad and boasting of the league’s best record over the past decade. Guangdong finished the 32-game 2012-13 season with just four losses, decimating nearly every team that came in their way. Guangdong feature China’s best player – Yi Jianlian – who returned to the CBA this season after an unsuccessful NBA stint to boost his already powerful side. They are perfectionists, replacing their successful coach mid-season to add an even more successful coach, and replacing their foreign import Terrence Williams at the end of the season to add Donald Sloan – formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers – to their roster.

Beijing Ducks – led by former NBA All Star Stephon Marbury – were the surprise winners of last year’s CBA title in their first-ever visit to the Finals. Despite a few minor hiccups, Beijing continued to be amongst the league’s elite this season behind the efforts of Marbury (who was amongst the league’s leaders in points and assists), Randolph Morris, Li Gen, and Zhe Ji. Like last year, Marbury has gotten his teammates involved more in the regular season before taking over in the playoffs. Will Guangdong – or any other opponent – find a way to stop him this time around? The Ducks face Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in the first round.

Finishing in the bottom four last season, CBA’s best ‘Asian import on hire’ Zaid Abbas (from Jordan) joined the Shandong Lions this season and helped completely change the fortunes for his new side, assisting other solid foreign imports Pooh Jeter and Jackson Vroman to help take this underdog side to second place in the league. But question marks remain if this team now has the mettle to carry on their hot streak into the playoffs. Their first round opponent are the Dongguan Leopards.

Those with an outside bet to challenge for the title could be the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of China’s cold far West, featuring veteran Mengkte Bateer and talented imports James Singleton and Von Vafer. Xinjiang will first have to deal with fifth place Liaoning Dinosaurs in the first round.

The first round could see an intriguing 1 vs. 8 matchup between Guangdong and the eighth-seeded Zhejiang Golden Bulls. While Zhejiang only barely managed to scrape into the postseason ahead of Shanxi and Bayi, they feature one of the league’s most entertaining scorers in Quincy Douby as well as forgotten former NBA big man Eddy Curry.

Outside the playoff picture, one of the revelations in the CBA this season was Shavlik Randolph of the Foshan Long Lions. Randolph was the CBA’s leading scorer (32.7 ppg) and finished the season third in rebounds (14.4 rpg). He missed the playoffs, but his performance could make him in high-demand in the CBA (or the NBA?) for the future.

Also missing the playoffs were two high-profile former NBA All Stars, both of whom who saw their teams finish in the bottom four: Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas. McGrady had a decent individual season for the Qingdao Eagles, but his efforts weren’t enough otherwise to save his poor team from a last place finish in the league. Gilbert Arenas showed glimpses of form for the Shanghai Sharks, but he missed more than half the season to injury and his squad suffered in the constant flux, finishing at 14th place.

But the ones left behind are the past; they’re the ones slain by the Dragon and unable to compete with the Snake. Now we look ahead: Will Guangdong get back to the top of Chinese Basketball? Will the Ducks bring the title back to China’s capital? Or will the New Year bring a new champion?