Beijing Ducks and Xinjiang Flying Tigers Soar into CBA Club Cup Quarterfinals
The first phase of the inaugural CBA Club Cup concluded with the Beijing Ducks defeating the Nanjing Monkey Kings, and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers overcoming the Liaoning Flying Leopards to secure their spots in the quarterfinals scheduled for February.
On the final day of Group D play in Qingdao, known as the “group of death”, the Beijing Ducks knew that a win over Nanjing would guarantee advancement. Star player Eugene German, who had sprained his ankle earlier in the week, made a triumphant return, scoring a game-high 27 points. He credited his six-month-old son as the inspiration behind his stellar performance.
German received support from Anunwa Omot, who added 20 points, leading the Ducks to a solid 91-75 victory. Head coach Xu Limin praised his team’s mentality, stating, “We treated this game as a decisive battle. We won, and our players also made breakthroughs in their mentality. Overall, I’m very satisfied with our performance here.”
In the evening matchup, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers defeated the Liaoning Flying Leopards, securing the other qualifying spot from Group D. Both the Tigers and Ducks finished with identical records of three wins and one loss, but Xinjiang claimed the top spot due to their head-to-head victory. Xinjiang’s coach Liu Wei expressed his satisfaction, saying, “The Club Cup has great significance for our team. Our young players got more opportunities to play, and our foreign players now fit in better with the team.”
With the intense group stage behind them, both teams now look forward to the knockout phase during the league break in February. The eight qualifying teams from four groups will compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine the champion. Fans can anticipate more thrilling basketball action as the second stage of the regular season tips off on November 27.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
