Liaoning, Xinjiang take 2-0 lead in CBA quarterfinals

BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Both Liaoning and Xinjiang had an identical 2-0 lead after defeating Fujian and Guangsha respectively in their best-of-five quarterfinals of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Thursday.

After a tough double overtime win in Game 1, Liaoning rallied back from 26-24 down to lead into the second half, and enlarged it to more than 20 points following a 15-0 spree, en route to their 115-95 victory over Fujian.

"Our players had excellent performance to ensure the victory. I'm very glad to see everyone of our 12 players on the court had one rebound at least, and I hope they will carry on towards the next game," said Liaoning coach Guo Shiqiang.

Guo Ailun had 25 points, six rebounds and eight assists while Brandon Bass contributed a game-high 34 points. Regular season MVP Wang Zhelin led Fujian with 24 points and nine rebounds.

Xinjiang had an early lead and kept it throughout, beating Guangsha 139-125. Abudushalamu and Li Gen scored 29 and 27 points respectively, while Kay Felder nearly made triple-double with 33 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists for the winners.

Game 3 will be played on Sunday evening for both series.