The Guangdong Southern Tigers beat the Fujian Sturgeons 116-108 in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Wednesday, claiming their third straight win.
The first quarter was close when Guangdong led by only three points, 32-29. The visitors began the second with six bricks out of seven 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Darius Bazley and Troy Gillenwater carried on the home team’s firepower by combining to score 16 points. Will Barton added another six points for Guangdong which saw their lead grow to 13 points, 65-52, when the first half ended.
Fujian’s Bazley and Gillenwater continued to charge in the second half with 24 points in combination, 14 of which came from Gillenwater. Neither side did a satisfactory job defensively, which explained why Fujian matched the opponent’s in scoring with 10 points from Joseph Young and nine by Frank Mason III in this quarter alone. Their deficit remained at 13 points, 97-84, thanks to their efforts.
Guangdong enhanced their defense from the beginning of the fourth quarter and began to extend their lead again to 21 points at 105-84. Though Young and Mason worked hard in the final five minutes for Fujian to rally, they failed to reverse the situation.
Fujian still struggle to search for their first win of the season after suffer five consecutive losses. They are joined by the Sichuan Blue Whales, Jiangsu Dragons, and Guangzhou Loong Lions in the winless club and the bottom of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).