Guangdong crushes Zhejiang for fourth straight basketball win at National Games

DONGGUAN, China, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Guangdong dominated Zhejiang 93-65 to pocket its fourth straight win in the men's basketball tournament at China's 15th National Games here on Saturday.

Guangdong took a commanding early lead with a barrage of three-pointers. Zhao Rui connected two times from beyond the arc in the first quarter, and when Guangdong were 4 of 7 from long distance, Zhejiang was just 4 of 13 overall in the period and trailed 29-16.

The pattern continued through much of the second quarter. Guangdong led 58-34 at halftime, having made more three-pointers (7) than Zhejiang had total field goals (6).

Guangdong appeared ready to take off in the second half, leading by 29 points before the final quarter. He Xining's layup gave Guangdong a 86-58 lead with five minutes to go on the clock, putting the game beyond Zhejiang's reach.

Xu Jie and Hu Mingxuan pocketed 14 points each, Zhao Rui added 13 points plus eight rebounds.

"No matter which team we will face in the knockout stage, I think firstly, we should try to do our best." Zhao Rui told Xinhua after the clash.

Elsewhere, Tian Yu had 25 points and nine rebounds as Tianjin easily beat Jilin 96-70, advancing to the knockout stage as the runner-up in Group I.

Tianjin took a 27-21 lead after the first quarter. Kong Degao helped Jilin narrow the gap to two midway through the second quarter, but a 16-2 run helped Tianjin close the first half with a 51-35 lead.

In the third quarter, Ge Zeyu scored seven points in three minutes to put Tianjin 60-37 ahead and put the contest beyond Jilin.

For Tianjin, Shi Deshuai had 22 points and Gu Zeyu added 17 points and 14 assists. Kong Degao led Jilin with 13 points and Geng Mingyang added 11 points.

In Sunday's other action, Shanghai reached the last eight after seeing off Hubei 109-82 to finish second in Group III.

"Being among the last eight teams, we fulfilled our goal. If we are relaxed and carry out our tactics well, I believe we can go further in the tournament," said Shanghai head coach Lu Wei.

Elsewhere, Beijing thrashed Macao 107-47, Henan beat Hong Kong 92-74 and Shandong defeated Jiangsu 86-66.

The top two teams in each group and the two best third-place finishers qualify for the quarterfinals. Liaoning, Tianjin, Beijing, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan and Shanghai are the eight teams to have progressed from the group stage. ■