Bai Haotian (Front) of Shenzhen Aviators drives the ball during a match between Tianjin Pioneers and Shenzhen Aviators at the newly resumed 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, June 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
DONGGUAN, South China, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhen Aviators eased past the Tianjin Pioneers 97-83 Wednesday afternoon to secure their first victory since the reopening of the CBA.
Both teams yearned for a victory to avoid three losses in a row as both had not won a single match since the CBA reopened.
The two teams were almost even in the first half, but Shenzhen managed to build a 12-point lead after Yang Linyi scored eight points in a row, including a 3-pointer buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Tianjin scored three points in a row to trim the deficit to eight points, but this was followed by a sudden 16-3 offensive by Shenzhen, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
In the last quarter, Shenzhen center Shen Zijie continued to dominate the paint, scoring seven points in succession with consecutive shots and penalties. Shenzhen maintained the dynamic and secure their first win since the restart of the season.
"We did a good job in defense, but we made too many turnovers on which were converted to points by our rival," said Shen Zijie, who said the back-to-back problem in the tournament system posed a great challenge to players.
"I told my players to get more rest on the one hand, and on the other hand, some stretching exercises will also help reduce fatigue," said Wang Jianjun, head coach of Shenzhen, "but every team has to cope with it."
Meng Zikai of Tianjin attributed their loss to sloppy defense, which led to many easy basketballs for Shenzhen. "It is painful to suffer 3 losses in a row; we need to strengthen our defense for the next match."
Shen Zijie contributed a game-high 26 points and 17 rebounds for Shenzhen, while Yang Linyi had 20 points and two rebounds. Meng Zikai led Tianjin with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Shenzhen will take on Jilin on Thursday, while Tianjin will play Guangdong on Friday. Enditem
