Strong favorite Guangdong Evergrande lost early in its playoff semi-final series, but came back with a better effort on Monday. The side matched up against Shanghai.
Evergrande didn't get a good start and failed in all phases of the game, starting with the first pass. Shanghai took advantage and won the first set 25-14. So that pushed Evergrande against the wall. The team had to win big to advance, and it overcame a leg injury to one of its best players in a massive comeback bid.
Evergrande seized the next two sets 25-16 and 25-13. The two teams were tied at 10-10 in the fourth set. Shanghai had lost all the momentum and made more mistakes. Guangdong Evergrande grabbed the lead thanks to the smashing play of Zhou Yuan at the net. Evergrande won the 4th set and the match to advance to the league final.
Lang Ping, Guangdong Evergrande Head Coach, said, "Shanghai's team is very good. Our players were too eager to win. They were in too much of a hurry at the beginning, so they didn't play at their best. They were relaxed later and gained every point they could."
(english.cntv.cn)
