Guangsha Lions sweep past Liaoning Flying Leopards to reach CBA Finals

The Guangsha Lions beat the Liaoning Flying Leopards 109-98 in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Playoffs on the road in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Thursday, sweeping past the three-time defending champions 3-0 to advance to this season's CBA Finals.

Guangsha will face the winner of the other last-four showdown between the Beijing Ducks and Shanxi Loongs for the championship. The Ducks head into Game 3 at home on Friday night holding a 2-0 series lead.

Three players – Hu Jinqiu, Barry Brown, and Sun Minghui – scored double-digit points for the Lions in Game 3 against Liaoning. Hu tallied game highs of 36 points and 10 rebounds; Brown added 25 points, nine assists, and four steals; and Sun contributed 17 points and nine assists.

On the other side, the Flying Leopards had five players score in double digits, but none reached 20 points. Zhao Jiwei and Dez Wells shared the team high with 17. The hosts were outrebounded 46-28 and dished out 10 fewer assists, 28-18.

Liaoning got off to a good start, and two free throws from Kyle Fogg put the reigning titleholders ahead 28-16 with less than three minutes left in the first quarter. But Guangsha trimmed the margin to 33-26 by the end of the period.

The Lions continued their rally in the second quarter and outscored the Flying Leopards 41-21 to take a 67-54 lead at halftime. Hu, Brown, and Sun all reached double-digit points in the opening half, combing to contribute 49 for the visitors.

The third quarter was more physical as both sides looked to strengthen their defense, but Liaoning struggled worse on offense and only scored 18 points in the period. The gap increased to 21 points, 93-72, going into the fourth quarter.

Despite the efforts of Zhao and Wells to chip away in the final period, the Flying Leopards never looked likely to mount a comeback. They suffered their third straight loss in the series and saw their chase for a fourth straight CBA trophy end in a sweep at the hands of the team they had previously beaten to claim titles in 2018 and 2022.