In a CBA regular season match where Guangdong Team, on a five-game winning streak, hosted Beikong Team with three losses in their last four games, it was a question of whether Guangdong would continue their excellent form or if Beikong would show signs of improvement. We were about to find out.
The first quarter saw both teams engaging in an intense back-and-forth battle, with Guangdong ending the quarter at 25-24. Jilunwate scored 10 points in the quarter, while Xu Jie contributed 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
In the second quarter, under the leadership of local players such as Xu Jie, Ren Junfei, and Zhang Wenyi, the team started with an 11-0 run. Beikong went scoreless for over two minutes until Salinger broke the drought with five consecutive points. At halftime, Guangdong led 55-45. Xu Jie had already accumulated 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, while Morand had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Salinger had 16 points and 7 rebounds.
After the break, both teams opened up with three-pointers, with Jilunwate, Liu Xiaoyu, and Du Runwang all hitting from beyond the arc. After Beikong made a 10-0 run in the paint to catch up, the home team went scoreless for four minutes, prompting Du Feng to bring Xu Xin into play. Jilunwate and Xu Jie's three-pointers resolved the scoring issues, and Xu Jie also connected several times with Xu Xin, showcasing the power of the "Xu-Xu" connection. By the end of the third quarter, Guangdong still held a 7-point lead. Xu Jie, who had played the entire three quarters, began to show signs of fatigue and faced double-teaming from the opponents.
In the fourth quarter, after half a quarter of play, Zhang Wenyi fouled out, and Zhang Fan hit a three-pointer to close the gap to just one basket. Shen Zijie's burst during this period was also crucial. Xu Jie, pushed to the brink, nailed a key three-pointer, to which Zhang Fan responded with another three. In the final minute, Tres caused Huang Rongqi to commit a three-point foul, resulting in Huang's disqualification due to six fouls. With Lile absent today, Tres' performance was outstanding. Following that, Tres tied the game with a three-pointer! However, Shen Zijie missed two crucial free throws, and Zhang Fan grabbed the rebound to create another foul, converting one of two free throws to take the lead by one point. This left seven seconds for the home team to attempt a buzzer-beater. Xu Xin delivered the game-winning mid-range shot off an offensive rebound! Leaving only three seconds for the visiting team. Zhang Fan's attempt at a game-winner missed. Ultimately, Guangdong narrowly defeated their opponents 99-98.
Xu Jie played the full 48 minutes, recording a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers, standing out with his performance. Huang Rongqi, shooting 0 for 6, managed only 2 points and 3 assists, with a team-low plus-minus of -20, falling into a slump. Du Runwang scored 5 points, Jilunwate had 23 points and 3 rebounds, Morand contributed 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks, Ren Junfei had 7 points and 4 assists, Zhang Wenyi scored 10 points, Bazley had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Xu Xin became the surprise player, shooting 4 for 5 to get 14 points and 4 rebounds, contributing the game-winning shot.
Liu Xiaoyu scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Shen Zijie had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals, with a team-high plus-minus of +15. Zhang Fan scored 16 points with 3 rebounds, Salinger had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, Tres contributed 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists, Zhu Songwei had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, and Chen Guohao added 1 rebound and 1 block. The team primarily relied on a seven-man rotation.
In their next game, Guangdong will face Guangzhou in the Guangdong derby. Beikong will play against Shougang in the Beijing derby.