NBL Round 9 (Regular Season): Hebei defeats Hefei in the closest game of the week

There are only two more rounds left in the Regular Season in NBL. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 9 in the NBL took place in Hebei. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of 3rd placed Hefei (7-4) to fourth ranked Hebei (6-5) 92-89 on Thursday evening. American guard Davion Warren (198-1999, college: Texas Tech) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners and center Refukati Jiang (204-1998) chipped in 19 points and 9 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis (208-1994, agency: Diamond Sports) with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Hebei maintains fourth place with 6-5 record, which they share with Jiangsu YS. Hefei at the other side dropped to the second position with four games lost. They share it with Hunan. Hebei is looking forward to face Jiangsu YS (#4) in Yannan in the next round. Hefei will play against Hubei and is hoping to win this game.
NBL top team - HK JinNiu (10-1) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed fifth ranked Jiangsu YS (6-5) 115-88. American guard Michael Ertel II (186-1999, college: UAB) nailed 24 points and 6 assists for the winning side and Scottie James Jr. accounted for 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Czech center Ondrej Balvin (217-1992, agency: Octagon Europe) came up with 22 points and 7 rebounds for Jiangsu YS in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. HK JinNiu have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 10-1 record. Jiangsu YS lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Hebei. HK JinNiu will play against Hunan (#3) in Changsha in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Jiangsu YS will play on the road against Hebei and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game in was also quite interesting. Second ranked Hunan (7-4) played at the court of 6th ranked Jiangxi (4-7). Hunan managed to secure a 4-point victory 91-87 on Friday. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was Dakari Johnson who had a double-double by scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Isaiah Briscoe who recorded 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Hunan maintains second place with 7-4 record having just three points less than leader HK JinNiu, which they share with Hefei. Jiangxi lost their sixth game in a row. They keep the sixth position with seven games lost. Hunan will meet at home league's leader HK JinNiu in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Jiangxi will play against Guangxi (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last game of round 9 bottom-ranked Hubei lost to Guangxi on the opponent's court 95-112.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 28 points and 8 assists by Javion Hamlet of Guangxi.



Hebei - Hefei 92-89

The most exciting game of round 9 in the NBL took place in Hebei. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of 3rd placed Hefei (7-4) to fourth ranked Hebei (6-5) 92-89 on Thursday evening. American guard Davion Warren (198-1999, college: Texas Tech) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners and center Refukati Jiang (204-1998) chipped in 19 points and 9 rebounds. Four Hebei players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis (208-1994, agency: Diamond Sports) with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds and American Gerry Blakes (193-1993, college: Arizona St.) scored 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Hebei maintains fourth place with 6-5 record, which they share with Jiangsu YS. Hefei at the other side dropped to the second position with four games lost. They share it with Hunan. Hebei is looking forward to face Jiangsu YS (#4) in Yannan in the next round. Hefei will play against Hubei and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Hebei: W.Davion 22+11reb+7ast, J.Refukati 19+9reb, P.Eric 15+3reb+4ast, A.E.J. 11+6reb+1ast, X.Fuwen 8+2reb+2ast, C.Yusheng 6+1reb+1ast
Hefei: A.Dimitrios 28+12reb+1ast, B.Gerry 21+9reb+4ast, Y.Wenbo 13+2reb+8ast, M.Tianyi 7+1reb, P.Radoslav 6+3reb+2ast, L.Zihao 6+3reb

HK JinNiu - Jiangsu YS 115-88

NBL top team - HK JinNiu (10-1) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed fifth ranked Jiangsu YS (6-5) 115-88. HK JinNiu dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Jiangsu YS's 28. HK JinNiu forced 27 Jiangsu YS turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 28 assists. American guard Michael Ertel II (186-1999, college: UAB) nailed 24 points and 6 assists for the winning side and his fellow American import forward Scottie James Jr. (202-1996, college: Liberty, agency: Pensack Sports) accounted for 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Czech center Ondrej Balvin (217-1992, agency: Octagon Europe) came up with 22 points and 7 rebounds and forward Jianhua Song (196-1991) added 16 points respectively for Jiangsu YS in the defeat. Five HK JinNiu and four Jiangsu YS players scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. HK JinNiu have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 10-1 record. Jiangsu YS lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Hebei. HK JinNiu will play against Hunan (#3) in Changsha in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Jiangsu YS will play on the road against Hebei and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
HK JinNiu: E.II Michael 24+3reb+6ast, J.Jr. Scottie 21+9reb, C.Josh 17+6reb+5ast, D.Jian 11+6ast, L.Duwei 11+3reb, Y.Wenxue 8+2reb+3ast
Jiangsu YS: B.Ondrej 22+7reb+1ast, Y.Xiang 17+1reb, S.Jianhua 16+4reb+1ast, Y.Chunnan 13+3reb+1ast, B.Vladimir 7+9reb+4ast, G.Yuxiang 5+1ast

Jiangxi - Hunan 87-91

The game in was also quite interesting. Second ranked Hunan (7-4) played at the court of 6th ranked Jiangxi (4-7). Hunan managed to secure a 4-point victory 91-87 on Friday. Hunan made 27-of-35 free shots (77.1 percent) during the game, while Jiangxi only scored nine points from the stripe. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was power forward Dakari Johnson (213-1995, college: Kentucky) who had a double-double by scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Pierre Jackson (180-1991, college: Baylor, agency: Slash Sports) chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was point guard Isaiah Briscoe (190-1996, college: Kentucky) who recorded 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists and center Robert Upshaw (213-1994, college: Washington) added 12 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Four Jiangxi players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Hunan maintains second place with 7-4 record having just three points less than leader HK JinNiu, which they share with Hefei. Jiangxi lost their sixth game in a row. They keep the sixth position with seven games lost. Hunan will meet at home league's leader HK JinNiu in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Jiangxi will play against Guangxi (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Hunan: J.Dakari 24+13reb+3ast, J.Pierre 16+6reb+7ast, Y.Yue 12+1reb, L.Zhanglin 9+3reb+1ast, L.Jiaxin 7+4reb+1ast, S.Grant 5+4reb+1ast
Jiangxi: B.Isaiah 28+9reb+7ast, G.Niven 13+1reb, U.Robert 12+13reb+4ast, L.Junwen 11+4reb+3ast, Z.Yanman 7+4reb+1ast, W.Yixiong 6+1reb+2ast

Guangxi - Hubei 112-95

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 8th ranked Hubei's (1-10) road loss to seventh ranked Guangxi (3-8) 95-112 on Friday. Guangxi shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 51.9 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists comparing to just 18 passes made by Hubei's players. The best player for the winners was American guard Javion Hamlet (193-1998, college: N.Texas) who scored 28 points and 8 assists. His fellow American import Joe Lawson (200-1992, college: Indianapolis) chipped in 22 points and 5 rebounds. Lawson is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. At the other side the best for losing team was guard Xiaoming Wang (190-1995) who recorded 21 points and 6 rebounds and forward Shiwei Xue (203-1997) added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Guangxi maintains seventh place with 3-8 record. Loser Hubei stay at the bottom position with ten games lost. Guangxi will meet higher ranked Jiangxi (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Hubei will play against the league's second-placed Hefei where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Guangxi: H.Javion 28+3reb+8ast, L.Joe 22+5reb, L.Ao 13+1reb+5ast, Y.Kai 13+2reb+3ast, L.MingHao 12+3reb+3ast, W.Qingming 9+2reb+2ast
Hubei: W.Xiaoming 21+6reb+2ast, X.Shiwei 16+7reb+4ast, B.Dejan 15+5reb+1ast, L.Wantong 12+5reb+4ast, S.Yuzhuo 11+2reb, X.Haoyu 7+1reb+1ast