CBA Roundup: Shanxi overturns Jilin, Ducks wins Beijing derby

ZHUJI, China, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Coming back to the court after injury, Jamaal Franklin helped the Shanxi Loongs overturn the Jilin Northeast Tigers 116-107 in the CBA here on Tuesday.

Shanxi's Ren Junwei notched a game-high 32 points and eight rebounds, while Yuan shuai added 27 points. Franklin grabbed 21 points.

Dominique Jones' 3-pointer established a double-digit advantage for Jilin in the first quarter. Thanks to Franklin, Shanxi overtook Jilin 55-52 in the second quarter, but Jilin delivered an 8-0 run to enter the second half 60-55.

After the interval, Shanxi soon tied the score 65-65. Yuan's scoring under the basket enabled Shanxi enlarge the gap to 92-77. Though Jilin strived to cut the deficit in the final quarter, Franklin's prowess did not leave them any opportunity.

Elsewhere, with head coach Yannis Christopoulos strengthening the Beijing Ducks' defense, the team beat the Beijing Royal Fighters 93-83 in the derby.

The Royal Fighters took a 20-17 lead dedicated to high shooting accuracy of 3-pointers. The second quarter witnessed a seesaw battle as Jonathan Gibson stood out to gift the Ducks a comeback of 44-43 before the whistle.

The score rose alternatively until Lei Meng contributed a long distance 3-pointer for his maiden show. Lei's scoring became a turning point as Ducks dominated the game later by pocketing 13 points to seal the victory.

Gibson got 23 points, followed by his teammate Justin Hamilton's 17 points. Both Sun Tonglin and Joseph Young made 17 points for the Royal Fighters.

Also on Tuesday, the Zhejiang Golden Bulls thrashed the Nanjing Monkey Kings 119-86, and the Shenzhen Aviators edged the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 104-103. Enditem