DONGGUAN, China, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Shandong Heroes defeated the Sichuan Whale 95-77 on Monday to end their three-game losing streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league.
Shandong beat the Tianjin Pioneers by one point in their first game after the restart of CBA season before they suffered a three-game losing streak with the latest 79-68 loss to Sichuan on Saturday.
For their second game two days later, Shandong limited Sichuan to 10 points in the first quarter and led 46-34 at halftime with attacks in the paint after Sichuan narrowed the gap with three-pointers.
Starting the second half with a 9-4 run, Shandong continued to enlarge the advantage into the last quarter. A 27-point lead set the tone for the rest of the match as Shandong took revenge on Sichuan.
"After Saturday's loss we reviewed and summarized the game, on both teams and personal perspective," said Gong Xiaobin, coach of Shandong. "Starting from defense, we made some adjustments today and became more patient in finding chances to attack."
Four Shandong players scored double-digits as Tao Hanlin had a game-high 23 points and Li Jingyu contributed 18 points, five rebounds and six assists. Li Yuanyu had 17 points and nine rebounds for Sichuan.
Sichuan will meet the Shenzhen Aviators on Wednesday, and Shandong has back-to-back game against the Shanxi Loongs on Tuesday. Enditem
