XI'AN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Which team can snap the Shanghai Sharks 16-game winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) regular season? The answer is the defending champion Liaoning Flying Leopards.
In one of the 31st round games played on Tuesday, the defending champion saw off Shanghai 117-114, making its rival suffer the first defeat in the latest 17 games.
Shanghai star Kenneth Lofton Jr. was absent because of injury. Liaoning put four non-Chinese basketballers in its active squad. At the beginning of the game, Kyle Fogg and Li Xiaoxu handed Liaoning a 12-2 run. Before the half break, Shanghai cut the deficit to seven points.
DeVante Wilson hit a three-pointer, helping Shanghai take an 86-85 lead when one minute and 32 seconds left before the last period. Then Fu Hao and Fogg added five points in total, Liaoning led by one after the third quarter.
When 6:31 left on the clock, Eric Bledsoe suffered a technical foul. The 35-year-old, who had been assessed an unsportsmanlike foul in the first quarter, was ejected.
When Liaoning tied Shanghai 114-114 in the last half minutes, Wang Zhelin of Shanghai had a turnover. Then Fogg and Han Dejun contributed three points for Liaoning, Li Tianrong missed the chance of bringing the game to the extra period after missing the shot beyond the arc.
Fogg scored 32 points, Dezmine Wells added 25 points and Han Dejun finished a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds. Bledsoe led Shanghai with 28 points, plus 13 assists.
When Shanghai's winning streak was ended, the Zhejiang Lions routed the Ningbo Rocket 109-84 on Wednesday night for its eighth straight victory. Barry Brown Jr. scored 28 points, and Hu Jinqiu had 22 points and nine rebounds.
After bagging the victory, the CBA temporary leader was qualified for the CBA playoffs, although 15 regular games remaining on the schedule.
On Thursday night, the Guangdong Southern Tigers rallied to beat the Guangzhou Loong Lions 85-77 for its seventh straight win. Troy Gillenwater scored a game-high 30 points. In Guangzhou side, local star Guo Ailun had no points, only adding five rebounds and seven assists.
In the other games of the 31st round, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers beat the Jiangsu Dragons 92-82, the Beijing Royal Fighters downed the Beijing Ducks 129-102, the Qingdao Eagles smashed the Jilin Northeast Tigers 130-104, the Shandong Heroes edged the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 81-78, the Shanxi Loongs won over the Tianjin Pioneers 136-113, the Shenzhen Leopards defeated the Nanjing Monkey Kings 108-101, the Fujian Sturgeons squeezed past the Sichuan Blue Whales 121-117. ■
