CBA Roundup: Zhejiang Golden Bulls overturns Shandong for 8th straight victory

HANGZHOU, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Jarmar Gulley's decisive 3-pointer spurred the Zhejiang Golden Bulls to overturn the Shandong Heroes 108-106 for a clean sheet of eight wins, while the Qingdao Eagles edged the Zhejiang Lions 80-79 in the eighth round of the 2022-2023 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Friday.

The Golden Bulls trailed by 105-106 with 19 seconds on the clock. Gulley hit the 3-pointer to overturn the game, leaving Shandong with only five seconds. As Gao Shiyan failed in his buzzer-beating 3-point attempt, the Golden Bulls players started to celebrate their victory.

Gulley had a game-high 37 points and made 12 boards and six assists for the Golden Bulls; Liu Zeyi and Wu Qian added 22 and 17 points, respectively. Troy Gillenwater pocketed 28 points to lead Shandong's six double-digit scoring players.

Gulley's 3-pointer powered the Golden Bulls to a 7-0 scoring streak in the opening minutes en route to a 26-21 lead in the first quarter. Shandong answered with a 14-2 run in the second quarter and reversed its fortune to wrap up the first half 59-51.

After the interval, the Golden Bulls pressed hard to catch up, but Shandong showed no mercy with an 11-0 run for a 13-point advantage by the end of the third quarter.

Gulley stood out with aggressive attacks in the final quarter, aided by scoring plays by Wu Qian and Liu Zeyi. With 63 seconds left, the Golden Bulls cut the deficit to two at 98-100 before Gulley helped his team to clinch the narrow win.

With the victory, the Golden Bulls became the only unbeaten team after the season reeled off its 8th round of matches.

Friday saw another close match, with Zhao Jiayi being the man of the match for Qingdao.

Qingdao took a six-point lead in the first quarter and expanded it to 44-34 at halftime. The Zhejiang Lions started the second half with a 9-1 run and cut the deficit to two by the end of the third quarter.

In the last quarter, guard Sun Minghui netted five points for the Lions' 12-0 scoring run that saw them turn the table around 72-65. After being tied at 77-77 with a little more than one minute left, Sun made his dunk to the cheers of the Lions. However, Zhao stole the show by sinking his winning 3-pointer with six seconds left.

In other Friday's games, the Sichuan Blue Whales defeated the Fujian Sturgeons 102-93, the Guangdong Southern Tigers beat the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 100-81, and the Nanjing Monkey Kings eased past the Ningbo Rockets 107-84.