NBL Round 16 (Regular Season): Jiangsu hands first defeat to HK JinNiu

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

HK JinNiu (14-1) recorded its first loss in Hong Kong on Tuesday night. Hosts were defeated by seventh ranked Jiangsu (8-7) 96-88. It ended at the same time the 14-game winning streak of HK JinNiu. 25 personal fouls committed by HK JinNiu helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American point guard Quade Green (183-1998, college: Washington) fired 44 points (!!!) and 4 assists for the winners. The other American import center Henry Sims (208-1990, college: Georgetown) chipped in 21 points and 12 rebounds. Nigerian-American swingman EJ Anosike (199-1998, college: CS Fullerton) produced 17 points and 6 rebounds for lost side. HK JinNiu's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Jiangsu have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with Shanghai. HK JinNiu at the other side still keeps top position with one game lost. Jiangsu will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. HK JinNiu will play again on the road against Jiangsu in Yannan and is hoping to win this game.
Leader HK JinNiu delivered the fourteenth victory. This time they crushed 5th ranked Shanghai (8-7) 80-61. Worth to mention a great performance of Czech center Ondrej Balvin (217-1992, agency: Octagon Europe) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 20 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Michael Ertel II contributed with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American guard Marcus LoVett Jr. (183-1996, college: St.John's, agency: Octagon Europe) replied with 27 points for Shanghai. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. HK JinNiu (14-1) have an impressive 14-game winning streak. They maintain first position. Shanghai at the other side dropped to the sixth place with seven games lost. They share the position with Jiangsu. HK JinNiu will play against Jiangsu (#6) in Yannan in the next round where they are favorite. Shanghai will play on the road against Hubei and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Zhangjiakou (0-15) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 130-95 loss to sixth ranked Hebei (9-6) in Zhangjiakou on Thursday evening. Worth to mention a great performance of Yongkang Fu who helped to win the game recording 26 points. At the losing side Viny Okouo responded with 21 points and 8 rebounds. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Hebei moved-up to fifth place. Loser Zhangjiakou still closes the standings with 15 games lost. Hebei will meet Shandong (#9) on the road in the next round. Zhangjiakou will play against Hunan (#4) in Changsha and hopes to get finally their first victory.

Rest of the games of round 16 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Anhui W. was defeated by Shandong in a road game 96-91. Hubei was beaten by Guizhou at home 90-97. Hangzhou lost to Hefei on the opponent's court 106-110.



Shandong - Anhui W. 96-91

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both tenth ranked Shandong and 9th ranked Anhui W. had identical 6-8 record. This time Shandong used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Anhui 96-91 on Thursday night. Shandong outrebounded Anhui W. 39-26 including a 16-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of American center Michael Holyfield (211-1992, college: SHSU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field) and the other American import forward Hasahn French (201-1998, college: St.Louis) who added 15 points and 10 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American center Noah Dickerson (207-1997, college: Washington) responded with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 14 rebounds and guard Juntao Lin (192-2003) scored 21 points and 4 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Shandong have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Hubei. Loser Anhui W. dropped to the tenth position with nine games lost. They share it with Jiaozuo. Shandong will meet at home higher ranked Hebei (#5) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Anhui W. will play against Hangzhou (#13) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Anhui W.: L.Juntao 21+1reb+4ast, E.Jawun 21+3reb+2ast, D.Noah 12+14reb+3ast, S.Brandon 11+1ast, Y.Zhenliang 9+3reb+1ast, M.Yicheng 7+3reb
Shandong: M.Holyfield 24+12reb+1ast, H.French 15+10reb+3ast, J.Cao 14+3reb, B.Young 12+7reb+2ast, J.Chen 8+1reb+2ast, J.Guo 8+3reb+2ast

Shanghai - HK JinNiu 61-80

Leader HK JinNiu delivered the fourteenth victory. This time they crushed 5th ranked Shanghai (8-7) 80-61. They outrebounded Shanghai 60-31 including a 19-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. HK JinNiu players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of Czech center Ondrej Balvin (217-1992, agency: Octagon Europe) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 20 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). American guard Michael Ertel II (186-1999, college: UAB) contributed with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American guard Marcus LoVett Jr. (183-1996, college: St.John's, agency: Octagon Europe) replied with 27 points and his fellow American import forward Shemar Wilson (206-2001, college: UT Arlington) added 8 points and 8 rebounds in the effort for Shanghai. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. HK JinNiu (14-1) have an impressive 14-game winning streak. They maintain first position. Shanghai at the other side dropped to the sixth place with seven games lost. They share the position with Jiangsu. HK JinNiu will play against Jiangsu (#6) in Yannan in the next round where they are favorite. Shanghai will play on the road against Hubei and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Shanghai: L.Jr. Marcus 27+2reb+2ast, D.William 10+2reb+1ast, T.Jie 8+1reb, W.Shemar 8+8reb+1ast, Z.A 6+6reb+2ast, G.Fengwei 2+5reb+1ast
HK JinNiu: O.Balvin 20+14reb+5ast, J.Dong 14+5reb+2ast, I.Ertel 13+9reb+3ast, M.Jones 9+3reb+4ast, Y.Lu 8+1reb+3ast, E.Anosike 8+7reb+1ast

Hubei - Guizhou 90-97

There was a surprise result when twelfth ranked Guizhou (5-10) defeated on the road higher ranked Hubei (7-8) 97-90 on Thursday. Guizhou looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of American-Puerto Rican Kyle Vinales (188-1992, college: CCSU) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 13 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists and forward Yunkai Li (205-2000) who added 17 points and 7 rebounds (perfect from the field making all six shots) during the contest. At the losing side American center Baylee Steele (213-1997, college: Duquesne, agency: Octagon Europe) responded with 21 points and 9 rebounds and his fellow American import forward Eric Paschall (198-1996, college: Villanova) scored 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Guizhou maintains twelfth position with 5-10 record. Loser Hubei dropped to the eighth place with eight games lost. They share the position with Shandong. Guizhou will meet at home higher ranked Jiaozuo (#11) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Hubei will play against Shanghai and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Hubei: S.Baylee 21+9reb+1ast, P.Eric 16+8reb+4ast, W.Xiaoming 14+1ast, G.Xiaopeng 14+2reb+5ast, X.Shiwei 11+7reb+1ast, L.Wantong 8+1ast
Guizhou: C.Manigault 17+9reb, Y.Li 17+7reb+2ast, Z.Li 14+2reb+1ast, K.Vinales 13+5reb+10ast, S.Lindsey 12+2reb+2ast, B.Zhao 10+1reb+7ast

Hefei - Hangzhou 110-106

Very expected game when 13th ranked Hangzhou (4-11) was defeated on the road by second ranked Hefei (11-4) 110-106 on Thursday. However just four-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Hefei made 30-of-35 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of American forward Brandon McCoy (213-1998, college: UNLV, agency: MSG) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 35 points (!!!), 15 rebounds and 5 blocks and Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis (208-1994, agency: Diamond Sports) who added 30 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. At the losing side American center Trevor Thompson (210-1994, college: Ohio St., agency: Octagon Europe) responded with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 22 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Rob Edwards (196-1997, college: Arizona St.) scored 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Hefei maintains second position with 11-4 record having just three points less than leader HK JinNiu. Hangzhou lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the thirteenth place with 11 games lost. Hefei will meet at home Jiangxi (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Hangzhou will play against Anhui W. (#10) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Hangzhou: E.Rob 27+6reb+6ast, T.Trevor 23+22reb+2ast, G.Yuxiang 19+2reb+3ast, H.Xu 11+1reb+2ast, Z.Xiaoyan 9+2reb+4ast, Z.Rongzhen 9+2ast
Hefei: B.McCoy 35+15reb, D.Agravanis 30+12reb+4ast, Z.Chen 17+2reb+3ast, J.Feng 11+5reb+4ast, J.Walker 10+1reb+3ast, X.Zhang 7+4reb+8ast

Zhangjiakou - Hebei 95-130

Bottom-ranked Zhangjiakou (0-15) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 130-95 loss to sixth ranked Hebei (9-6) in Zhangjiakou on Thursday evening. They made 26-of-34 free shots (76.5 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Zhangjiakou 47-33 including 17 on the offensive glass. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Yongkang Fu (200-1999) who helped to win the game recording 26 points and American guard Corey Lamonte (191-1998) who added 24 points during the contest. At the losing side DR Congolese center Viny Okouo (214-1997) responded with 21 points and 8 rebounds and American guard Kenneth Miller (186-1995, college: OVU) scored 19 points. Five Hebei and four Zhangjiakou 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. Hebei moved-up to fifth place. Loser Zhangjiakou still closes the standings with 15 games lost. Hebei will meet Shandong (#9) on the road in the next round. Zhangjiakou will play against Hunan (#4) in Changsha and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Zhangjiakou: O.Viny 21+8reb+1ast, M.Kenneth 19+2reb+2ast, L.Yutian 14+7reb+1ast, M.Chris 13+4reb, L.Junjie 9+3reb+4ast, S.Yudi 6+1reb
Hebei: Y.Fu 26+3reb+1ast, C.Lamonte 24+3reb+2ast, J.Horne 17+7reb+4ast, J.Jiang 16+6reb+4ast, J.Weng 15+5reb+1ast, L.Liu 10+1reb+3ast

HK JinNiu - Jiangsu 88-96

HK JinNiu (14-1) recorded its first loss in Hong Kong on Tuesday night. Hosts were defeated by seventh ranked Jiangsu (8-7) 96-88. It ended at the same time the 14-game winning streak of HK JinNiu. 25 personal fouls committed by HK JinNiu helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American point guard Quade Green (183-1998, college: Washington) fired 44 points (!!!) and 4 assists for the winners. The other American import center Henry Sims (208-1990, college: Georgetown) chipped in a double-double by scoring 21 points and 12 rebounds. Nigerian-American swingman EJ Anosike (199-1998, college: CS Fullerton) produced 17 points and 6 rebounds and American guard Mason Jones (193-1998, college: Arkansas) added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Four HK JinNiu players scored in double figures. HK JinNiu's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Jiangsu have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with Shanghai. HK JinNiu at the other side still keeps top position with one game lost. Jiangsu will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. HK JinNiu will play again on the road against Jiangsu in Yannan and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
HK JinNiu: A.E.J. 17+6reb+1ast, J.Mason 13+5reb+5ast, E.II Michael 12+1reb+3ast, B.Ondrej 10+4reb, D.Jian 8+3reb, S.Chenran 8+1reb+4ast
Jiangsu: Q.Green 44+2reb+4ast, H.Sims 21+12reb+3ast, X.Yu 13+4ast, J.Li 8+1reb+1ast, Y.He 7+5reb+1ast, J.Song 3+2reb+1ast