Defending champs Guangdong secure CBA finals spot after edging Beijing Ducks

QINGDAO - The defending champions Guangdong Southern Tigers edged the Beijing Ducks 88-85 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) semifinals here on Saturday to reap a 2-1 victory in the best-of-three series.

Both sides played hard defense from the very beginning, and Guangdong managed a 16-13 lead in the first quarter.

The Ducks tied the game 37-37 when the first half ran out, as Jeremy Lin and Ekpe Udoh each bagged eight points.

Launching a 9-0 run, the Southern Tigers grabbed a 63-57 lead in the third quarter.

After Fang Shuo buried a three-pointer, Beijing fell only one point behind with 16 seconds on the clock. Sonny Weems stayed solid on the free throw line to add two more to extend the lead to three points for Guangdong.

Lin made a driving layup to cut the deficit to one point again, before Yi Jianlian added two more points out of three free throws for Guangdong.

Lin missed a buzzer-beater to see the opponents cheer their victory.