CHN - Guangdong complete hat trick

GUANGDONG (Chinese Basketball Association) - Guangdong beat Xinjiang 103-94 in Game 5 of the CBA Finals to win their third championship in a row and sixth in the last seven years.

The result saw Guangdong Li Chunjiang claim his sixth title to overtake Wang Fei as the most successful head coach of the CBA league.

Guangdong enjoyed a good start, taking a 26-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. The visitors though fought back and buried consecutive three-pointers to go in front 41-40. However, thanks to a pair of three-point plays in the final minute of the first half, Guangdong took a 49-45 advantage at the break.

The hosts would break the game wide open in the second half, thanks in large part to the exceptional play of national team forward Zhu Fangyu, who finished with 29 points in 35 minutes and won the Finals MVP trophy for the third time in a row.

The last three games of the series were played in a four-day span after a day of mourning was held following the Qinghai Yushu earthquake in which more than 2,100 people perished.

FIBA