ZHUJI, China, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Zhejiang Lions got a difficult 109-104 win over the Beijing Ducks in the 11th round of the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league here on Thursday.
Sun Minghui had a game-high 33 points plus two rebounds and 13 assists while Jonathan Gibson had 19 points and two rebounds.
With Gibson's three pointer, Beijing opened a lead over Zhejiang until Sun's lay-up helped Zhejiang tie it 15-15. But Beijing had a narrow lead over Zhejiang 21-20 at the end of the first quarter.
Beijing extended the advantage to 12 but Zhejiang tried hard to chase up, and the first half saw Beijing lead 52-48. Zhejiang turned the tide with 75-74 in the third quarter with a Li Jinglong jump shot through an assist from Feng Xin.
The fourth quarter was tied 97-97 going into extra time. Zhejiang grabbed the chance and sealed the victory with Sun's two free throws.
The head coach of Zhejiang, Li Chunjiang had high praise for his team. "The whole team demonstrated their hard work. The first phase is over but the results were worse than expected. We should get well-prepared for the second phase."
The head coach of Beijing Simone Pianigiani said that he saw progress made by his players. "We played well in the first half, but we missed some points and didn't enlarge the gap. Gibson's foul and Li Muhao's injury affected their performances. In the last four games, we encountered the same situation. We should give a more stable performance in the future."
Fang Shuo of Beijing noted that "the opponent could withstand our joint defense. Their defense was tight most of the time, making big trouble for us. Our spirits are high despite the failure. We expect a better performance in the second phase."