BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Zhejiang Golden Bulls registered their fifth consecutive victory after holding off the Qingdao Eagles 106-99, while the Xinjiang Flying Tigers overwhelmed the Nanjing Monkey Kings 109-77 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Monday.

In a highly-anticipated duel between two promising centers, Zhejiang's Yu Jiahao overmatched Qingdao's Yang Hansen, scoring 24 points and 17 rebounds on his 21st birthday, while Yang finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

Zhao Jiayi and Wang Ruize combined for Qingdao's first 11 points, and fueled by their high efficiency from 3-point range, the hosts went ahead 21-12 midway through the first quarter, while Zhejiang rode on an 11-2 run to level the score at 23-23. The opening quarter ended in a 27-27 tie.

Zhang Hongshuo kickstarted the second period with a dunk and one added free throw for Zhejiang, who used an 8-0 spurt afterwards to take control, racing into a 57-45 halftime lead.

Zhao sank two straight 3-pointers as Qingdao pulled within seven points, while Liu Zeyi and Wu Qian soon helped Zhejiang regain their double-digit advantage at 71-59, with his team setting up a 13-point cushion entering the fourth quarter.

Stefan Moody kept attacking the basket for Qingdao early in the final period, while Jarmar Gulley and Yu responded in timely fashion to keep Zhejiang's comfortable lead. Yang's three-point play with 2:46 remaining cut Qingdao's deficit to within six points, before Yu countered with a jumper on the next possession.

Moody had a three-point play with 34.5 seconds to play as Qingdao trailed by five points, but third-ranked Zhejiang held off their opponents' rally through a steady performance on the free-throw line.

Carlik Jones and Gulley contributed 24 and 21 points respectively for Zhejiang.

"The win is attributed to our persistence. Our players are exhausted both physically and mentally, so we tried to motivate everyone before the match, and they showed it in defense and rebounds today," commented Zhejiang coach Wang Shilong.

Zhao scored a game-high 27 points to lead Qingdao, and Moody added 26.

"Zhejiang is a strong team, and their players have been playing together for quite a long time," said Qingdao coach Liu Weiwei, who had coached Zhejiang for five years before leaving in 2022. "As a young team, we need to shrug off the burden on the court."

Elsewhere, sitting 13th in the table, just outside the playoffs, Nanjing failed to stop Xinjiang from taking an early lead, trailing 15-29 after the first quarter.

Xinjiang kept extending their lead afterwards, outscoring Nanjing 32-20 in the last period en route to a comfortable victory.

Having played one more game, Xinjiang reclaimed top spot in the CBA league with a 36-9 win-loss record. Five Xinjiang players scored in double figures, led by Qi Lin's 31 points. Abdusalam Abdurexit achieved a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

For Nanjing, Antonio Blakeney, who had averaged 30.6 points prior to Monday's action, was held to 12 points. Enditem

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