Guangdong feels the heat Hostility between Su Wei (left) of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and Stephon Marbury of the Beijing Ducks during ...

Guangdong feels the heat

Hostility between Su Wei (left) of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and Stephon Marbury of the Beijing Ducks during Game 1 of the CBA Finals on Wednesday drew criticism from the public. Cui Meng / China Daily

Beijing draws first blood in the CBA Finals against defending champion 

The Tigers were expected to roar through the CBA Finals, but came off more like purring cats in Game 1 on Wednesday night. 

The Guangdong Southern Tigers lost their cool in front of a huge, vocal crowd at the MasterCard Center (formerly Wukesong Arena) and what was expected to be a romp over the Beijing Ducks has now become a compelling series. 

The Southern Tigers, seven-time CBA champions over the past eight years, should be used to playing big games in front of hostile fans, but it did not appear that way as they wilted in front of 18,000 tormentors on Wednesday night. 

Beijing's boisterous home crowd booed and abused Guangdong's players from every corner of the packed stadium, which upset the defending champion's mind and soul. 

The Southern Tigers completely lost their composure in the third quarter, receiving two technical fouls and a flagrant one after a reckless attempt to block a long-range shot from Stephon Marbury and the subsequent complaining about the referee's call. 

During the tense period, Guangdong's head coach, Li Chunjiang, subbed in his bench players and ordered them to block the Ducks' lanes to the paint. 

"Use your legs to stop them, not the hands. Understand?" Li shouted to his players during a timeout in the third quarter when Beijing led 66-50. 

Li's "legs" call triggered a debate after his team lost 108-101 to Beijing in the opening game of the best-of-seven series. 

According to a poll on the league's official website, about 79 percent of the 13,366 participants believed Li was implying his players should trip their opponents, despite assistant coach Du Feng explaining it was just reminding them to keep up with the pace. 

Guangdong's performance was far from its best; it turned the ball over 22 times, had it stolen 19 times and concluded the game with a season-high 40 fouls. 

Struggling against Marbury's penetration, forward Zhou Peng fouled out in fourth quarter while three other teammates, including American import James Singleton and national center Su Wei, walked off with five fouls apiece. 

Its momentum after sweeping last season's final rival Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the semis appeared to be affected by a 12-day layoff due to a schedule delay. 

"Obviously, Guangdong hasn't regained its form yet. It came in slowly and without enough focus," national assistant coach Li Nan said courtside. "It played like it was a regular season game and not a final. The players lost their mental balance. Everybody seemed impatient and irascible. They overreacted to almost every officiating call." 

Despite a 30-20 rally in fourth quarter which cut the margin from 22 points to only three in last five minutes, Guangdong failed to come back when Marbury, who finished with game-high 36 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, came up with 13 points late in the game. 

Despite losing Game 1, Guangdong remains upbeat. 

"Actually, the team performed better than I imagined. Every player worked hard on the court although we had 22 turnovers and that gave them a lot of easy baskets," Li said at the post-game media conference. "We lost because we didn't play our best. It doesn't matter. We've experienced a lot and it's just the beginning." 

Du echoed Li's sentiments, vowing a major turnaround back home. 

"We came back from a big hole - a 22-point deficit. It's a good sign," said Du, who used to be Guangdong's starting forward. "We should have a chance to bounce back if we play harder. We were in a tougher situation last year and still won the title. We will show what a champion is made of back home." 

Guangdong overcame a 2-1 deficit to stun the Flying Tigers, 4-2, in last year's finals. 

Aaron Brooks matched Marbury with 36 points but only hit 18 percent of his three pointers (3-14) and turned the ball over nine times. Singleton had a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds while Su had 13 points and 11 rebounds. 

Guangdong's star-studded local contingent did not play anywhere near as well as it looks on paper. 

National players Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng, both MVP winners, combined for 17 points and hit only six field shots from 21 attempts. 

Sadly, even in China's Olympic basketball stadium, the ugly side of fan behavior reared its head as some Beijing diehard threw a beverage cup onto a Guangdong player's face as the team passed through the tunnel. 

"We can handle the loss and even abuse on the court. But hitting our players like that is totally unacceptable. It shouldn't happen in the league's most-watched game with so many security measures in place. It's a shame," coach Li said.