Defending champions Guangdong blanked Shanghai 2-0 prior to the game in the best-of-five quarterfinals. And a third win will ensure they advance with a clean sheet.

From the start, Yi Jianlian made his formidable presence felt under the hoop. But Shanghai rallied to take the lead minutes later with the encouragement of home support. They finished the quarter with a 26-20 advantage.

Stalwart resistance from the Shanghai side ignited in Guangdong players an appetite for revenge. By the end of the second period, Guangdong had set the score at 46-39.

The home side managed to minimize the gap to three points in the third quarter, striving for a miraculous re-run of the knockout matches. But their efforts were offset with excessive errors that gifted their rivals a seven-point gap before the final period.

Yi Jianlian smashed the rival's defense in the fourth quarter as Shanghai, lacking a center comparable to Yi, were only able to counterattack with uninspired three-pointers.

In related developments, Bayi, Jiangsu and Fujian all notched up 2-1 leads in the home-and-away quarterfinals after wins on Wednesday, while Shandong, Zhejiang and Liaoning won't qualify for the next round unless they win their fourth game on Friday.