体坛英语新闻：Defending champ Guangdong retains CBA trophy

DONGGUAN, Guangdong Province, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Reigning champion Guangdong Dongguan Bank shrugged off a 19-point deficit in the first quarter to beat Xinjiang Guanghui 106-95 at home in the fifth game of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League finals on Sunday, claiming the title again by winning the best-of-seven series by 4-1.

    It was the fifth trophy grabbed by the Guangdong side in the recent six seasons.

    The game was played in front of thousands of excited Guangdong fans. However, they were the visitors who enjoyed a flying start in the opening minutes after a 15-2 surge.

    The aggressiveness in defense helped Guangdong to fight back gradually and take over the lead before the half-time buzzer.

    Chinese national team forward Zhu Fangyu snatched 28 points while American point guard Smush Parker added 27 to pace Guangdong, never allowing the advantage to exchange again.

    Canadian international Juan Mendez scored a match-high 33 points for the visitors. He buried nine three-pointers in a single match to level the CBA finals record set by Zhu Fangyu.

    Scoring guard Myron Allen failed to make a dent in the scoring sheet with only 15 points but dished out 10 assists and pocketed nine rebounds. Forward Mulati and former NBA player Bateer each had 17 points before they were both fouled out in the last quarter.