ZHANGZHOU, China, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Beijing rallied to beat Shandong 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-21, 17-25, 15-6) in the first round of Chinese Men's Volleyball Championship on Monday in Zhangzhou, southeast China's Fujian province.
Leading by Chinese internationals Jiang Chuan and Liu Guobin, Beijing held out the strong challenges and dominated the fifth set to take the first win in group A.
In the other group A matches, Henan smashed Liaoning 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-9), while the young Sichuan squad with six under-20 players brushed aside Fujian 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-11).
"Young players need to play matches to find faults and improve themselves. That's different from daily training," said Sichuan head coach Fu Jun.
The other five-set match on Monday witnessed Hubei won three consecutive sets after losing the first two, defeating Tianjin 3-2 (21-25, 27-29, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13) in group B.
In addition, Zhejiang edged Hebei 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-21), while Guangdong defeated Yunnan 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-17).
The tournament has 14 teams, which have been divided into two groups in the first phase of the tournament from October 19 to 25.