Liaoning Hunters and Beijing Ducks tasted the first victories so far in
the 2008-09 season when the Hunters crushed Shandong Gold 111-99 and the Ducks
beat Tianjin Ronggang 98-84, both at home, yesterday in the fourth-round matches
of the CBA league.
Power forward Li Xiaoxu had 26 points and 11 rebounds while shooting guard
Liu Xiangtao added 26 points and seven rebounds for the Hunters.
Last-season's finalists had a dismal 0-3 start and played with one foreign
players, Awvee Storey, throughout the games as they failed to find another one
before the deadline of the registration.
Foreign players become more and more critical to most of the CBA teams after
the league allows them to play enough time this season. Most teams pitched their
foreign players, most from minor leagues of Europe and the United States, for
over 40 minutes in each game.
Mack Tuck had 34 points and nine rebounds while teammate Tommy Smith adding
29 points and nine rebounds to lead Shandong, with only one Chinese player, Sun
Jie, scoring in double-digit numbers, 17 points.
Beijing also found their attacking rhythm after losing their first three
matches on Sunday when David Harrison chipping in 30 points and Dontae Jones 20.
The pair combined for 31 rebounds out of the 42 for the team to give Beijing
the most-wanted win.
Top three teams cruised again in the weekend with perfect records.
Defending champions Guangdong Dongguan Bank had no hesitation to slash down
Shannxi Yalv 103-86 on the road, while Dongguan Marco Polo edged off Bayi Fubang
100-88 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
Xinjiang Guanghui also won an away game by beating Shanxi Zhongyu 105-79.
In Sunday's other games, Jiangsu Dragons kept Shanghai Sharks winless record
with a 119-85 win, Fujian SBS held the home court to beat Zhejiang Cyclones
113-104, Zhejiang Guangsha defeated the bottom Yunnan Honghe 103-87, while
Changchun Dacheng thrashed Qingdao DoubleStars 116-83.
