Guangdong Falls 104–113 to Shanghai: Huang Mingyi Shines as a Surprise Spark, but the Interior and Zhang Haojia Struggle Badly

In the CBA Club Cup knockout round, Shanghai defeated Guangdong 113–104 to secure a spot in the semifinals. For Guangdong, the familiar second-half issues resurfaced once again—Shanghai maintained steady pressure after halftime, gradually taking control and ultimately sealing the win. After the final buzzer, the result left Guangdong with one encouraging takeaway, but also three major concerns.

The biggest bright spot was Huang Mingyi, who delivered the kind of unexpected impact every team hopes to find in a high-stakes game. He was excellent in the first half, providing instant production and looking completely “plug-and-play.” However, what followed was puzzling: once the second half began, his minutes suddenly disappeared. In today’s game, ball-handling wings are a premium across the league, and his skill set is exactly the type teams are constantly searching for. That’s why it felt like a missed opportunity—he should be a player who stays in the rotation and continues to be developed. Going forward, Guangdong would benefit from committing to his growth, because the talent is clearly there.

The most glaring problem, however, was Guangdong’s interior defense. Across the last two matchups against Shanghai, the pattern has been hard to ignore: once Shanghai attacked the paint, scoring came far too easily—whether it was their bigs finishing inside or perimeter players driving straight to the rim. With Salinger unavailable, the remaining frontcourt pieces simply couldn’t provide reliable rim protection, leaving Guangdong passive and reactive at the most important area of the floor. Even with Quain enjoying a brief scoring burst, it wasn’t enough to cover the defensive hole in the paint.

Zhang Haojia’s performance was another major concern. When he was on the floor, the overall impact leaned negative—he struggled to hold up at the four, lacking both the size and the foot speed to stay solid defensively. Too often, he was caught watching as opponents scored, and the breakdowns became costly. While he did knock down a few threes late in the game, the defensive leaks remained constant. In a tight knockout setting, those lapses are difficult to survive.

Finally, there was the worrying injury situation involving Samner. After checking in during the second half, he looked sharp and productive, using individual creation to keep Guangdong within striking distance. But in the fourth quarter, he appeared to suffer an injury. The details are still unclear, and his condition remains unknown—especially since he even left the bench area during the game. Guangdong will be hoping it’s nothing serious, because if the injury turns out to be significant, the impact on the team could be massive.