Sports Desk
QINGDAO: Thanks to forward He Siyu’s nine straight points in the final 36 seconds, the Tianjin Pioneers dragged the game into overtime before overcoming the Guangzhou Loong Lions 118-110 in the last round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) regular season here on Monday.
Guangzhou went on an 18-3 run in the fourth period to turn the table at 90-76. Tianjin fought back with a 21-5 scoring run, and He made three free throws to tie it 103-103, forcing an overtime which they rode on a 15-7 run to seal the victory.
Shi Deshuai notched 35 points and 11 rebounds for Tianjin. He scored 23. Meng Zikai added 14.
Five players scored in double figures for Guangzhou, led by Chen Yingjun’s 26 points and eight assists.
“I’m proud of our young players. They did their best,” said Tianjin coach Liu Tie.
“Failure is not necessarily bad,” said Ding Wei, head coach of Guangzhou. “We should learn how to convert advantages into victory.”
