NBL Round 8 (Regular Season): Hefei lose to Hebei

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most important game in the last round took place in Hefei between third ranked Hefei (5-3) and fifth ranked Hebei (5-3) on Friday night. Hefei was defeated by Hebei at home 72-82. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Hefei. Hebei had a 35-24 advantage in offensive rebounds. 24 personal fouls committed by Hefei helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American guard TJ Starks (188-1998, college: CSUN) orchestrated the victory by scoring 28 points and 7 rebounds. The other American import guard Corey Lamonte (191-1998) contributed with 12 points for the winners. Forward Zihao Liu (198) replied with 17 points for Hefei. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Hebei moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Hefei and Jiangxi. Hebei is looking forward to face Anhui W. (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Hefei will play against the league's leader Hunan (#1) in Changsha and is hoping to win this game.
Bottom-ranked Zhangjiakou is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their eighth consecutive match to eleventh ranked Anhui W. (3-5) 102-80. Worth to mention a great performance of American point guard Jawun Evans (185-1996, college: OK State) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points, 9 rebounds and 15 assists (was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line !!!) and Yicheng Man who added 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. American guard Kenneth Miller (186-1995, college: OVU) responded with 30 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Anhui W. moved-up to tenth place, which they share with Hubei. Zhangjiakou at the other side still closes the standings with eight games lost. Anhui W. will play against higher ranked Hebei (#5) on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Zhangjiakou will play against Hangzhou (#8) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
The game in Yannan was also quite interesting. Second ranked Hunan (7-1) played at the court of 7th ranked Jiangsu (3-4). Hunan managed to secure a 9-point victory 99-90 on Friday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Jiangsu. American players dominated the game. The winners were led by Stephen Zimmerman who had that evening a double-double by scoring 32 points, 19 rebounds and 5 assists. Even 33 points (!!!), 9 rebounds and 8 assists by Quade Green did not help to save the game for Jiangsu. Jiangsu's coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Hunan have a solid four-game winning streak. They keep a position of league leader. Loser Jiangsu keeps the seventh place with four games lost. They share the position with Shandong and Hangzhou. Hunan will meet at home Hefei (#4) in the next round. Jiangsu will play against Guizhou and hope to secure a win.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 8: Hubei was beaten by Hangzhou on the road 90-88. Shanghai destroyed Guizhou on its own court 107-88. Jiangxi managed to outperform Hubei in a road game 107-98.
The most impressive performance of 8th round was 24 points and 8 rebounds by Niven Glover of Jiangxi.



Hangzhou - Hubei 90-88

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when tenth ranked Hangzhou (3-4) edged at home 9th ranked Hubei (3-5) 90-88 on Thursday. The winners were led by Latvian power forward Artjoms Butjankovs (204-1991, agency: BIG) who scored that evening 27 points and 6 rebounds and American-Puerto Rican point guard Jordan Howard (180-1996, college: Cent Arkansas) supported him with 18 points and 8 assists. Hangzhou's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Even 25 points by American forward Eric Paschall (198-1996, college: Villanova) did not help to save the game for Hubei. His fellow American import center Baylee Steele (213-1997, college: Duquesne, agency: Octagon Europe) added 19 points and 9 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) for the guests. Four Hubei players scored in double figures. Hangzhou moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Jiangsu and Shandong. Loser Hubei dropped to the tenth position with five games lost. They share it with Anhui W.. Hangzhou will meet bottom-ranked Zhangjiakou (#14) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Hubei will play against the league's second-placed HK JinNiu (#2) and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Hubei: P.Eric 25+2reb+3ast, S.Baylee 19+9reb+1ast, W.Xiaoming 15+5reb+1ast, S.Keifer 13+1reb+4ast, G.Xiaopeng 8+6reb+2ast, X.Shiwei 6+12reb
Hangzhou: A.Butjankovs 27+6reb+2ast, J.Howard 18+2reb+8ast, Y.Gao 12+4reb+4ast, R.Pekovic 8+3reb+1ast, K.Si 7+2reb+3ast, X.Zhang 7+2reb+1ast

Anhui W. - Zhangjiakou 102-80

Bottom-ranked Zhangjiakou is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their eighth consecutive match to eleventh ranked Anhui W. (3-5) 102-80. Anhui W. made 23-of-29 charity shots (79.3 percent) during the game. Anhui W. outrebounded Zhangjiakou 47-29 including a 19-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Anhui W. players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of American point guard Jawun Evans (185-1996, college: OK State) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points, 9 rebounds and 15 assists (was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line !!!) and forward Yicheng Man (198-1999) who added 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Five Anhui W. players scored in double figures. American guard Kenneth Miller (186-1995, college: OVU) responded with 30 points and guard Junjie Li (183-2005) scored 20 points and 6 assists. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Anhui W. moved-up to tenth place, which they share with Hubei. Zhangjiakou at the other side still closes the standings with eight games lost. Anhui W. will play against higher ranked Hebei (#5) on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Zhangjiakou will play against Hangzhou (#8) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Zhangjiakou: M.Kenneth 30+3reb+3ast, L.Junjie 20+3reb+6ast, O.Viny 11+11reb+1ast, S.Yudi 8+3reb+4ast, L.Jiamao 5, C.Jiahui 4+5reb
Anhui W.: J.Evans 26+9reb+15ast, Y.Man 22+9reb+4ast, J.Lin 14+1reb, N.Dickerson 12+16reb, B.Sampson 10+4reb, Z.Yuan 8+1reb

Hefei - Hebei 72-82

The most important game in the last round took place in Hefei between third ranked Hefei (5-3) and fifth ranked Hebei (5-3) on Friday night. Hefei was defeated by Hebei at home 72-82. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Hefei. Hebei had a 35-24 advantage in offensive rebounds. 24 personal fouls committed by Hefei helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American guard TJ Starks (188-1998, college: CSUN) orchestrated the victory by scoring 28 points and 7 rebounds. The other American import guard Corey Lamonte (191-1998) contributed with 12 points for the winners. Four Hebei players scored in double figures. Forward Zihao Liu (198) replied with 17 points and Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis (208-1994, agency: Diamond Sports) added 16 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Hefei. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Hebei moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Hefei and Jiangxi. Hebei is looking forward to face Anhui W. (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Hefei will play against the league's leader Hunan (#1) in Changsha and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Hefei: L.Zihao 17+3reb+2ast, A.Dimitrios 16+6reb, W.Jordan 13+3reb+1ast, M.Brandon 8+8reb, Z.Xiran 6+4reb+8ast, F.Jiawei 6+5reb+2ast
Hebei: T.Starks 28+7reb+2ast, C.Lamonte 12+4reb+3ast, J.Weng 11+6reb+2ast, V.Koreniuk 10+7reb+1ast, Z.Wang 9+1reb, X.Wang 4+4reb+1ast

Jiangsu - Hunan 90-99

The game in Yannan was also quite interesting. Second ranked Hunan (7-1) played at the court of 7th ranked Jiangsu (3-4). Hunan managed to secure a 9-point victory 99-90 on Friday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Jiangsu. Hunan made 16-of-20 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. American players dominated the game. The winners were led by center Stephen Zimmerman (211-1996, college: UNLV, agency: Slash Sports) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 32 points, 19 rebounds and 5 assists and forward Kevin Cross (201-2000, college: Tulane) supported him with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. Four Hunan players scored in double figures. Even 33 points (!!!), 9 rebounds and 8 assists by point guard Quade Green (183-1998, college: Washington) did not help to save the game for Jiangsu. Center Robert Upshaw (213-1994, college: Washington) added 27 points and 19 rebounds for the hosts. Jiangsu's coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Hunan have a solid four-game winning streak. They keep a position of league leader. Loser Jiangsu keeps the seventh place with four games lost. They share the position with Shandong and Hangzhou. Hunan will meet at home Hefei (#4) in the next round. Jiangsu will play against Guizhou and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Jiangsu: G.Quade 33+9reb+8ast, U.Robert 27+19reb+2ast, Y.Xiang 8+1reb+2ast, C.Xuanren 7+1ast, L.Jiahui 6+1reb+4ast, L.Zengxuan 4
Hunan: S.Zimmerman 32+19reb+5ast, K.Cross 25+8reb+11ast, J.Liu 17+4reb+1ast, J.Liu 13+1reb+1ast, Y.Deng 6+6reb+8ast, Q.Wang 4+1reb+2ast

Shanghai - Guizhou 107-88

Very expected game when 13th ranked Guizhou (2-6) was smashed on the road by third ranked Shanghai (6-2) 107-88 on Saturday. Shanghai looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Guizhou's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Shanghai made 8 blocks. American players dominated also this game. The winners were led by swingman William Douglas (196-1998, college: PVAMU, agency: BIG) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 15 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists and forward Shemar Wilson (206-2001, college: UT Arlington) supported him with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Five Shanghai players scored in double figures. Even 37 points (!!!) and 5 rebounds by guard Brevin Galloway (188-1997, college: Clemson, agency: BIG) did not help to save the game for Guizhou. Power forward Sterling Manley (213-1998, college: UNC) added 21 points and 8 rebounds for the guests. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Shanghai maintains third position with 6-2 record behind leader Hunan. Guizhou lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the thirteenth place with six games lost. Shanghai will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Guizhou will play against Jiangsu (#9) in Yannan and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Guizhou: G.Brevin 37+5reb+3ast, M.Sterling 21+8reb+1ast, L.Scottie 11+2reb+2ast, L.Zhuangfei 7+2reb+2ast, L.Zhanfan 6+7reb, Z.Liwei 4+2reb+1ast
Shanghai: A.Ze 20+1reb+4ast, S.Wilson 17+11reb+1ast, W.Douglas 15+8reb+11ast, J.Tang 13+2reb, J.Quinerly 10+1reb+5ast, Y.Wang 9+3reb

Hubei - Jiangxi 98-107

Rather predictable result when sixth ranked Jiangxi (5-3) won against on the road 9th ranked Hubei (3-5) 107-98 on Saturday. Jiangxi made 23-of-30 free shots (76.7 percent) during the game. Jiangxi had a 28-17 advantage in offensive rebounds. The winners were led by American guard Niven Glover (196-2000) who scored that evening 24 points and 8 rebounds and the other American import guard Mohamed Kone (188-1998, college: Bemidji St.) supported him with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Jiangxi's coach used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. Even a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds by American center Baylee Steele (213-1997, college: Duquesne, agency: Octagon Europe) did not help to save the game for Hubei. Guard Xiaoming Wang (190) added 22 points for the hosts. Five Jiangxi and four Hubei players scored in double figures. Jiangxi moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Hebei and Hefei. Loser Hubei dropped to the tenth position with five games lost. They share it with Anhui W.. Jiangxi will meet Jiaozuo (#12) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Hubei will play against the league's second-placed HK JinNiu and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Hubei: W.Xiaoming 22+1reb+3ast, P.Eric 20+1reb+2ast, S.Baylee 18+12reb+1ast, S.Keifer 15+1reb+2ast, G.Xiaopeng 12+5reb+6ast, X.Shiwei 6+11reb+2ast
Jiangxi: N.Glover 24+8reb+1ast, M.Kone 18+6reb+3ast, K.Sy 17+6reb, M.Bryson 15+6reb+2ast, Y.Li 11+7reb, Y.Wang 6+3reb+2ast