Wang Zhizhi saved the best for last, scoring 11 of his 21 points
in the fourth quarter to lead the Bayi Rockets to their first CBA
Championship in?four years. They defeated reigning champions
Guangdong Southern Tigers to claim an 88-83 victory and the title
in Dongguan yesterday evening.
This was the military squad's eighth title, after the seven
championships garnered between 1995 and 2003 before Wang
expatriated himself to the Dallas Mavericks in 2002.
Wang, who returned to Bayi last summer, took seven rebounds to
counteract the 22 points and 10 rebounds from Yi Jianlian, who was
looking to give Guangdong their fourth consecutive
championships.
"Some say The Return of the King just happened for real
but it's not all about me as all the Bayi players are leading
roles," said Wang, who also grabbed?one block,?one
assist, and?one steal.
Although six Guangdong players posted double-digit
contributions, the Southern Tigers trailed almost throughout, the
first time Bayi enjoyed such domination in the series.?
The home team took a brief lead at the beginning of the game but
Bayi then embarked on a 17-4 run to close the first quarter at
17-8.
Guangdong usurped the lead twice in the following game, but let
it loose soon with Bayi leading by as many as 10 points.
Li Nan, with his 14 points, scored his second three-pointer to
give Bayi an 85-76 lead with 2:22 minutes to go. Victory seemed
assured from that moment and the Bayi captain's fist beat the sky
in victorious defiance.
"We wanted to beat them up here, in Dongguan. We didn't want to
go back to Ningbo (Bayi's home court) because it's the best time to
wrap up the finals on a 4-1 lead," Li said.
After a time-out, the Tigers roared their last as Zhu Fangyu and
Yi Jianlian each scored a three-pointer and Yi's free-throw brought
it back to 85-83 with 40 seconds to go.
Bayi's point guard Wang Zhongguang missed a three-pointer
attempt but Guangdong also missed a chance to tie it or even take
the lead when Greene Terrence committed a turnover with 18.3
seconds left and Bayi's win was final.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2007)
