JINAN - The Shanghai Sharks beat the Qingdao Eagles 90-73 for its eighth straight win, improving its record to an impressive 10 wins and 2 losses, with the 12th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) concluded on Friday.
Shanghai went into the game with a 10-0 run in the first 2 minutes of the game, and Brandon Goodwin and Kenneth Lofton Jr. combined for 7 points to extend the lead to 17-2, before Yan Pengfei scored 6 consecutive points, helping Shanghai secure a commanding 33-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Shanghai fielded their bench players but remained dominant, even stretching the lead to 42-11. However, Qingdao managed to launch attacks through teamwork. Zhao Jiayi hit 3 three-pointers, helping narrow the gap to 32-49. Shanghai then recalled their starters, ending the first half with a 57-37 lead.
After halftime, Shanghai continued to leverage their interior advantage to drive offense, maintaining a lead of around 20 points. In the final quarter, Qingdao had briefly cut the deficit to 15 points. However, Shanghai held onto its lead until the final buzzer.
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"In the paint, we only had Ji Zhuo and Zhang Yang, who are significantly inferior in height and weight compared to Wang Zhelin and Kenneth Lofton Jr. We had no choice but to resort to passive zone defense," Liu Weiwei said.
In this game, Joe Young registered a game high of 31 points for Qingdao while Quinndary Weatherspoon contributed 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Wang Zhelin posted 21 points, 8 rebounds, while Goodwin added 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists.
In other games, the Zhejiang Golden Bulls dominated the Guangzhou Loong Lions 95-60, the Zhejiang Lions beat the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 87-72, the Suzhou Dragons lost to the Liaoning Dinosaurs 71-88, and the Ningbo Rockets downed the Nanjing Tongxi Dasheng 94-71.
Narrow margins were seen in several matches. The Guangdong Southern Tigers edged past the Shenzhen Leopards 110-105, the Tianjin Pioneers fell short against the Shanxi Brave Dragons 99-103, the Beijing Royal Fighters narrowly defeated the Sichuan Pinsheng Whales 81-79, the Jilin Northeast Tigers secured a close win over the Fujian Sturgeons 77-74, and the Shandong Heroes beat the Beijing Ducks 87-85.
