TAIYUAN, China, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Shenzhen Leopards beat Zhejiang Chouzhou 80-77 to take the Under-16 men's club tournament title at the ongoing 2nd China Youth Games here on Friday.
The two teams are arch rivals in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league.
From the very beginning, Shenzhen resorted to a full-court defense with Ma Mingkun making 11 points in the first quarter. However, Zhang Haibo made a pair of 3-pointers for a 15-2 scoring spree for Zhejiang who led the quarter by 31-21.
Budding star Yu Jiahao of Zhejiang who sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter, kept on playing on the court but was slow in defense, allowing Shenzhen to claw back and cut the deficit to five into the second half.
Shenzhen took over the game from the third quarter with a 15-3 run after a three-point performance from Sun Haoqin, and once led by double digits with their aggressive moves.
Shenzhen led into the final quarter by eight points. Ma Mingkun scored 22 points for Shenzhen before he was fouled out, and Liu Changjiang made a key 3-pointer with five minutes remaining on the clock to kill the last hope for Zhejiang.
Hosts Shanxi defeated Guangdong Southeast Tigers 50-48 to win the gold medal of the Under-18 men's club tournament, while Jinan smashed Guangdong 83-69 to win the Under-16 men's sports school crown.
The Under-16 and Under-18 women's clubs tournaments will start on Saturday.
