Defending champion Guangdong Southern Tigers recovered from a game down to thrash Bayi Rockets 97-57 on Tuesday to tie the CBA Finals se

Yi Jianlian, under the eyes of NBA scouts, led Guangdong with 19 points and 14 rebounds while Dixon Jason added eight points and 16 rebounds.

The 2006-07 finals might be Yi’s last hurrah in China since, after three championships with Guangdong, he may seek his fortune in the NBA whose teams had many scouts sitting courtside.

After losing the opener 94-89 on Sunday, the first finals defeat in four years for Guangdong, the home team improved their defense, shutting out Bayi 48-28 from the key and scoring 7-out-of-32 on the 3-pointers.

Wang Zhizhi was benched for the second straight game for Bayi but his usual dominance was nos felt when Bayi let him loose in the second quarter, as they trailed by 10. 

Guangdong led 34-23 at the break, the lowest halftime score ever for the arch-rivals. However, any fight Bayi had deserted them in the fourth as they benched most of their starters, clearly seeking to preserve them for Game 3 and 4 to be held in their hometown of Ningbo. 

Forward Li Ke was the only Bayi player to make a real impact 18 points, with Wang limited to nine points and eight rebounds.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2007)