In the Chinese Basketball Association, the inaugural CBA Club Cup continued with Zhao Rui and Qi Lin returning from injury to help the Xinjiang Flying Tigers beat the Beijing Ducks 85-79 and claim their first win in Group D in Qingdao on Friday. Sports Scene's Liu Jiaqi reported from Qingdao.
The CBA Club Cup resumed in Qingdao after a day of rest, with Group D leaders Beijing, who had won two straight games, facing last season's Finals runners-up Xinjiang. With key players Qi Lin and Zhao Rui unavailable, the Flying Tigers were stunned by Nanjing in their opener, but the duo returned to make their event debuts against the Ducks.
"This was my first game in the CBA Club Cup, and I prepared very well. I know my physical condition is getting better and better, so I want to display my ability in a different way to help our team," said Xiangjiang guard Zhao Rui.
"Zhao Rui is an essential part of our team, because he can help us with outside shooting and organizing, so I'm happy he came back from injury here," said Beijing forward Qi Lin.
After Xinjiang fell behind in the first quarter, Zhao entered from the bench to help reverse the momentum - first making a steal, and then setting up QJ Peterson to tie the score, before dishing to Dedric Lawson to continue the comeback - as the Flying Tigers outscored Beijing 19-11 in the second quarter, and led by five points at halftime.
"Winning or losing is not the most important thing here, because we know Beijing did not have several key players. We focused more on our performance, and overall, I think both teams played very well, and I hope everybody enjoyed the game," said Xinjiang coach Liu Wei.
Although Ducks forward Zhang Cairen, who is a Xinjiang native, scored a game-high 24 points, Qi, who was born in Beijing, contributed 11 points in the fourth quarter for the Flying Tigers to seal the 85-79 victory, and handed the capital side their first Club Cup defeat.
"I think my shooting form mostly depends on my mentality, because we practice shooting thousands of times in training. Mindset is the most important thing, and after making some adjustments, I regained my form," said Beijing forward Qi Lin.
"We were missing Eugene German and two key domestic players in this game, while Xinjiang played with nearly a full squad. So everybody who could play wanted to contribute a bit more for the team, both on offense and defense, and we played without pressure," said Beijing forward Zhang Cairen.
In Friday's other game, Qingdao beat Liaoning 94-78 to secure their second win. Beijing continue to lead the standings with 2 wins and 1 loss, while Xinjiang and Nanjing both have 1 win and 1 loss. Saturday's action will see Liaoning face Nanjing and Xinjiang meet Qingdao, with the top two teams from the group advancing to the next stage.