Guangdong and Yi Jianlian Edges Zhejiang in CBA

Yi Jianlian of Guangdong Hongyuan dunks during a third round CBA game against Zhejiang Guangsha on November 30, 2012 in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo: Osports.cn]

With Yi Jianlian’s double-double, Guangdong Hongyuan upset Zhejiang 113-110 in their first 2012-2013 CBA home game on Friday night.

After a season of struggling and frustration in NBA, Yi came back home with a hero’s welcome. And he quickly became the hero of the team with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Guangdong trailed all the way in the first half. Wang Shipeng missed all of his 7 3-point attempts, and what was worse, for the team, they missed all 17 attempts from the downtown.

“We had been very slow into the game, we missed all 17 3-point shots in the first half, I never saw that before in my career,” Guangdong’s coach Li Chunjiang said after the match.

Guangdong finally found their basket in the beginning of the second half. Zhu Fangyu made 2 3-pointers, inspiring Guangdong to take a 7-point lead before the fourth quarter.

The visiting team had chances to retake the advantage as they twice closed the gap to 3 points. But Wang Shipeng, who only made 2 of his 12 3-point attempts, killed the game with his vital one with 90 seconds to go.

“We are very happy to win the game, though it seems a little tough for us in the first half, our team is on the right way,” Li said.

via Guangdong Edges Zhejiang in CBA.