SICHUAN beat Liaoning 94-91 in Game 5 of the 2015-2016 CBA Finals on Sunday and won the series 4-1 to become the fifth champion team in CBA’s 21-year history.

    Sichuan recovered from an opening game loss to win four straight matches to claim the side’s first championship. Only four clubs — Bayi, Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing — had won the title earlier.

    Sichuan, ranked 18th last season, improved from last year’s 8-30 to 30-8 in this year’s regular season after signing Hamed Haddadi, Mike Harris and Justin Dentmon from Qingdao.

    The three foreign players combined for 58 points Sunday. Harris led Sichuan with 25 points and 15 rebounds while Haddadi finished with a double-double of 22 and 16.

    But it was Chinese players who secured the victory. Wang Ruheng hit four three-pointers, including a crucial one in the fourth quarter right after Liaoning narrowed the gap to three. Zhang Chunjun had 12 points and seven rebounds.

    “The three foreign players did help the team a lot during the entire season,” said Sichuan head coach Yang Xuezeng. “But they are all team players. We won the championship because of team effort.”

    Liaoning reached the CBA finals six times without winning one. The team trailed as many as 23 points in the middle of the third quarter but then Lester Hundson hit three straight three-pointers to close the gap to 10 before the final period.

    Guo Ailun’s layup with 1:17 left put Liaoning just two points behind Sichuan. Liaoning’s Liu Zhixuan was fouled on a layup but he only managed one free throw. Hudson failed to tie the score in the last seconds.

    Sichuan started the game well as Haddadi swept the hosts’ first eight points. Liaoning had only one point through Guo Ailun in the beginning five minutes. Leading by four after the first quarter, Sichuan outscored Liaoning 28-15 for a 17-point halftime lead.

    Liaoning started the second half with a 6-1 run. Sichuan called a timeout and returned with a 11-0 run and led by 23, the biggest margin of the match. (Xinhua)