CBA Roundup: Guangdong overwhelms Beijing, Jilin edges Nanjing

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Ducks and the Nanjing Monkey Kings both failed to win on Wednesday in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league, and had to keep fighting for a spot in this season's playoffs.

Beijing swallowed the second straight defeat after a 110-92 loss to the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

The Ducks played a competitive first quarter, trailing by only one point. However, the Southern Tigers delivered tougher defense in the second quarter, limiting Beijing's score to 16 points in the single period.

Guangdong was once leading by more than 20 points in the second half, and Beijing tried hard to get back into the game in the final minutes, but Guangdong stayed calm to wrap up the victory.

Guangdong big man Zhou Qi grabbed 16 rebounds throughout the game, along with 14 points. Tremont Waters had a team-high 21 points for Guangdong.

Guangdong moved back to top-four on the standings thanks to the victory. Beijing was currently 11th.

12 teams will qualify for the playoffs in the 20-team league.

Nanjing was leading by four points after the first three quarters, but the Jilin Northeast Tigers played a good enough final quarter to claw back for the win at 113-110.

Nicholas Rakocevic had 26 points for Jilin. Jiang Yuxing added 25.

With four games to play in the regular season, Nanjing was placed 13th with a 22-26 win-loss record, two victories behind the 12th-placed Shanxi Loongs who recorded 24-24.