Welcome to the Finals, Big Fella.
Bay Area big man Liu Chuanxing hardly saw action in the first three games of these Finals, averaging just a little over 7 minutes of action per game. He was actually close to MIA in Games 2 and 3 when he logged only 2 and 3, minutes of floor time, respectively.
But with import and starting center Andrew Nicholson out for Game 4, Bay Area needed its biggest dragon to give the team a lift. Big Liu delivered.
The gentle giant scored 8 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a little over 17 quality minutes — including the first 6 minutes of the payoff period, when Bay Area turned a one-point deficit to an 81-72 lead. Liu was terrific in that stretch, uncorking 6 markers and grabbing 3 boards (2 offensive) to help the Dragons seize control.
Liu’s production in Game 4 should not come as a surprise, as Big Liu has averaged 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 15 minutes of action so far. He even held his own against June Mar Fajardo in the semis, where he averaged 16 minutes per game mostly matched up against the six-time MVP.
Ginebra’s agile, fleet-footed bigs, though, appear to be a bad matchup for the 7-5 Liu, at least on paper. And it certainly looked that way in Game 1, when the Bay Area big man could not seem to keep up with either Christian Standhardinger or Japeth Aguilar. But Liu flipped the script in Game 4, figuring out a way to impose his size and heft in the paint late in the game after struggling early against the Fil-German.
Big Liu’s big breakout should bode well for these Dragons, who will either play importless again in Game 5 or with a still badly hurt Nicholson. Whatever the case, expect Liu to see more playing time again.