JINAN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Shanxi Brave Dragons and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls both advanced to the quarterfinals with commanding 2-0 victories in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoffs on Saturday.
Zhejiang staged a dramatic comeback to secure their win over the Ningbo Rockets in overtime. Ningbo led by 13 points with five minutes on the clock, but Brandon Randolph sparked a 15-2 run to help Zhejiang tie the game at 72-72.
In overtime, Randolph sank two straight three-pointers on his way to scoring eight straight points for Zhejiang, only for Liu Xiaoyu to spearhead Ningbo's response and tie the game once again. At a critical moment, 19-year-old Li Yuezhou broke through Ningbo's tight defense for a layup, securing an 83-81 victory for Zhejiang.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Shanxi held off Qingdao's late surge to secure a 97-94 win. Shanxi stormed out to a 10-0 start on home court and never relinquished early control, taking a 51-33 lead at halftime after briefly weathering a Qingdao push in the second quarter.
Qingdao fought back in the second half, with Lester Quinones and Jordan Mickey combining effectively inside and out as the deficit narrowed to nine by the end of the third quarter. Quinones then hit three straight three-pointers in the final 18 seconds, but Shanxi managed to hold on.
Quinones led Qingdao with 29 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Marco Knight posted 24 points, six assists, and six rebounds for Shanxi, while Jia Mingru added 16 points. Enditem
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