In the 26th round of the CBA regular season, Guangdong team played against Shandong team at home and won with a score of 98-93, securing a 5-point victory. This win brought Guangdong team their second consecutive victory, stabilizing their position in the top nine of the CBA standings with a record of 15 wins and 11 losses. On the other hand, Shandong team missed out on their sixth consecutive victory and dropped to fifth place with a record of 18 wins and 8 losses.
Before the game, many people favored Shandong team to win due to their obvious advantages in terms of lineup. Shandong team had two outstanding foreign players, and they were in excellent form, having already achieved five consecutive victories. In contrast, Guangdong team's season could be described as a rollercoaster, as they were willing to lose to anyone!
However, the outcome was different from what everyone expected, and Guangdong team ultimately defeated Shandong team, laughing all the way to the end. So, why was Guangdong team able to defeat Shandong team and secure this victory? Renowned commentator Chen Zhenghao analyzed the situation and pointed out the four reasons for Guangdong team's victory.
Firstly, Du Feng made full use of Xu Jie and Jilunwote's roles in the offensive end. It is well-known that without Hu Mingxuan, Guangdong team's biggest reliance in offense was Jilunwote and Xu Jie. In this game, Du Feng focused on their offensive contributions, resulting in Jilunwote scoring the highest with 26 points, and Xu Jie scoring the second-highest with 22 points. Obviously, both Jilunwote and Xu Jie played their roles effectively in the offensive end, providing sufficient firepower for Guangdong team.
Secondly, there was an increase in Xu Jie's off-ball offense. As we all know, Xu Jie is the engine of Guangdong team, and many times, the team's offense is organized and connected by him. Originally, Xu Jie was involved in ball-carrying offense, but in this game, Du Feng increased his off-ball offense. We can see that Xu Jie shot many off-ball three-pointers with great efficiency, making 6 out of 8 attempts, achieving a 75% shooting rate, which is very efficient. At the same time, Xu Jie also provided 11 assists, clearly maximizing Du Feng's role.
Thirdly, Ren Junfei's role in the fourth quarter was tapped into. The 35-year-old veteran Ren Junfei did not play a single second in the first three quarters of the game, but in the fourth quarter, he played the full 12 minutes. As a result, we saw Ren Junfei playing vigorously in the fourth quarter, especially on the offensive end, scoring 8 points and becoming the key player for Guangdong team in the fourth quarter. Undoubtedly, Du Feng's decision to bench Ren Junfei for three quarters was a clever move.
Fourthly, the role players stepped up. Role players such as Huang Rongqi, Zhang Haofei, and Du Runwang played their parts. Huang Rongqi demonstrated his value by continuously hitting three-pointers to help the team at the beginning and delivering wonderful assists in the fourth quarter. Some fans commented that seeing Huang Rongqi's current performance, his role is even greater than Hu Mingxuan's. Apparently, Huang Rongqi's efforts have been recognized by Guangdong team's fans.
Zhang Haofei became Guangdong team's defensive ace, effectively restricting the opposing foreign players. It can be said that without Zhang Haofei's defensive toughness, Guangdong team would have found it difficult to contain the foreign players of Shandong team in the second half of the game. Besides his defensive contributions, in the critical moments of the fourth quarter, Zhang Haofei sealed the victory for Guangdong team with a long-range two-pointer. Without a doubt, Zhang Haofei played a crucial role in this game.
As for Du Runwang, he also rejuvenated in this game, being highly efficient on the offensive end. He played for 21 minutes and 12 seconds, shooting 4 out of 6, including 3 out of 5 three-pointers, with a shooting rate of 60%, scoring 13 points and a plus-minus value of +15! Chen Zhenghao believes that Du Runwang played at the level of the Chinese men's national basketball team.