Liaoning smash Guangdong in first game of CBA semifinals

NANCHANG, China - The Liaoning Flying Leopards overwhelmed defending champions the Guangdong Southern Tigers 92-79 in the first game of the best-of-five semifinals in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoffs here on Tuesday.

Regular-season title holder Liaoning finished with six players in double figures, led by 16 points from Fu Hao. Zhang Zhenlin notched 15 points and Kyle Fogg added 13. Eric Moreland had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Zhao Rui led Guangdong with 15 points, followed by 14 from Hu Mingxuan. Sonny Weems contributed 13 points and 8 rebounds.

"We did a good job on defense. Guangdong is the powerhouse in the league and they made the game very tough for us to win," Fu Hao said after the game.

Eric Moreland fiercely attacked the paint with tough layups, leading Liaoning to prevail 22-14 in the first quarter. Kyle Fogg and Cong Mingchen buried three-pointers as Liaoning surged a 10-1 run to expand the lead to 23 points at the break. Guangdong narrowed the deficit to 15 points on 43-58 with a 13-6 burst before Liaoning answered a 7-0 run to put the game beyond reach.