In a historic first-ever Beijing post-season derby, Zeng Fanbo lit up the court with a personal playoff best 30 points, guiding the Beijing Ducks to a 106-100 victory over the Beikong Royal Fighters on Wednesday. The win knotted their best-of-five CBA quarterfinal series at 1-1.
The opening quarter set the tone with a back-and-forth battle. Beikong’s reserve guard Zou Yucheng sparked a late surge off the bench, pouring in 10 points to keep the Royal Fighters within a single basket. By the buzzer, the Ducks held just a one-point edge.
In the second quarter, Beikong flipped the script, engineering a 13-0 run that pushed them to a 58-51 halftime lead. Despite Zeng’s relentless drives, the Ducks trailed at the break. However, the momentum shifted in the third quarter when Chen Yingjun knocked down four triples, helping Beijing reclaim a narrow lead heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter remained razor-close, but Zeng rose to the occasion again. His clutch three-pointer in the closing minutes extended the Ducks’ advantage and effectively sealed the win. Zeng finished with 30 points and four rebounds, etching a new scoring mark in his playoff career.
Across the league, the Shanxi Loongs dominated the Guangdong Southern Tigers 116-101 at home, seizing a 2-0 lead in their quarterfinal. After Guangdong opened strong—led by Hu Mingxuan’s 13 first-quarter points—Shanxi answered with a 19-0 blitz in the second, ballooning their lead.
The Tigers rallied in the third behind Troy Gillenwater’s 13 points, cutting the gap to 11. But Shanxi’s Yuan Shuai delivered a timely nine three-pointers en route to 29 points, and Hamidou Diallo added 28, dousing Guangdong’s comeback hopes and securing the win.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
