A new dynasty in Chinese basketball? Liaoning wins 2nd CBA title

The emphatic Liaoning Flying Leopards romped to four straight wins against the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions to claim its second CBA title.

Liaoning secured the championship after cruising to a straightforward 100-82 victory last Tuesday.

After topping the regular-season standings, losing just six games, Liaoning hit top form during the playoffs, which began with a 2-0 series win against the Shanxi Loongs. There was a passing of the dynastic torch in the semifinals, as Liaoning defeated the Guangdong Southern Tigers 3-0. (Guangdong beat Liaoning in the finals last season.)

Liaoning head coach Yáng Míng 杨鸣, who took over at the start of last season, has managed to capture the same magic that his counterpart Dù Fēng 杜锋 did with Guangdong after winning the 2013 playoff crown.

Like Du, who built his teams around big personalities and star players, such as Yì Jiànlián 易建联, MarShon Brooks and Sonny Weems, Yang has also built a team of well-integrated stars.

With the club’s talismanic guard Guō Àilún 郭艾伦 at the core, Yang built a team of young up-and-coming Chinese stars and foreign experience around the 28-year-old. Eric Moreland, who became the second player to win both a CBA and NBA championships, and Kyle Fogg both provided support to the squad without ever being the foreign crutch that many CBA teams rely on. Like Guangdong, Liaoning’s strength has been built on local talent just as much as star imports.

Players such as former NCAA Division 1 power forward Kevin Zhāng Zhènlín 张镇麟, national teamer Zhào Jìwěi 赵继伟 (who was named the finals MVP), Fù Háo 付豪, and the evergreen captain Hán Déjūn 韩德君 all played critical roles in the championship-winning machine.

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China tops Badminton Asia Championships

China claimed three out of the five golds at the Badminton Asia Championships, including in the women’s singles, as the unseeded Wáng Zhǐyí 王祉怡 defeated current world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the final. (See above.)

Chén Qīngchén 陈清晨 and Jiǎ Yīfán 贾一凡 won the women’s doubles gold, while the pair of Zhèng Sīwéi 郑思维 and Huáng Yǎqióng 黄雅琼 defeated compatriots Wáng Yìlǜ 王懿律 and Huáng Dōngpíng 黄东萍 in the final of the mixed doubles competition.

The 16th-ranked Wang secured wins over 2012 bronze medalist Saina Nehwal, Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi, and the second-seeded An Se-young on the way to the final.

Fifth-seed Hé Bīngjiāo 何冰娇, China’s highest-ranked women’s player at the tournament, was knocked out in the quarterfinals against fourth-seed P.V. Sindhu.

On the men’s side, China’s Wēng Hóngyáng 翁泓阳 had a dream run end in the semifinal against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia. Weng, ranked 81st globally, made it to the tournament through the group stage qualifiers. On his way to the semifinal, the 22-year-old secured memorable victories over seventh-seed Srikanth Kidambi and world No. 5 A.S. Ginting.

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China’s wait for Snooker World Champion goes on (SCMP)

Wanda to create new pro cycling league in China (Sport Business)

Youku strikes five-year Badminton World Federation rights deal (Sport Business)

Lakers guard signs sneaker deal with Chinese brand (Yahoo)

The China Sports Column runs every week.