Zheng scored 44 to deliver Zhejiang first win at 11th Chinese National Games

By (Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-15 09:41

LINYI: Teenager center Zheng Bowen scored 44 points to give Zhejiang the first win in the women's basketball tournament of 11th Chinese National Games here on Wednesday, beating Hubei 99-79 in the last round of the preliminary phase.

The Zhejiang side had suffered four straight defeats in the previous games with no chance left to enter the final eight. Their opponent Hubei also lost hope for a berth at the quarterfinals, and both teams wanted to grab a win to avoid an embarrassing no-win group stage exit.

The 19-year-old Zheng carried the team on her back from the very beginning of the match, she collected 19 points in the first half to give Zhejiang a 53-44 lead. And when the game resumed, the in-form Zheng continued to extend the advantage for Zhejiang.

Zheng, 1.93m, buried 19 shots from 29 attempts and also sank sixfree throws to lead the score list. Her teammate Shi Yitong added 20 for Zhejiang. Foward Xin Shuang of Hubei had a team-high 27, while shooting guard Zhai Huan notched 19 and forward Cao Beidi added 18 for Hubei, who finished at the bottom of Group A.

"The center position of Hubei team is their weak point. And that's why I had so many chances to shoot under the rim," said Zheng after the match.

The team of PLA (People's Liberation Army) defeated Guangdong 114-73 to finish as top of Group A. The host team Shandong, who upset Beijing 63-54 today, followed Guangdong as the third placer, while Beijing finished the fourth and took the last ticket for the quarterfinals.

In Group B, league champion Liaoning beat Jiangsu 93-80 to seal the top spot. Heilongjiang, paced by national team star Miao Lijie outscored Hernan 86-72 to finish as the third. And Chongqing surrendered a 108-49 defeat to finish at the bottom.