Alpha Kaba of the Jiangsu Dragons (center) runs with the ball during a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) match against the Jilin Northeast Tigers in Changchun, Jilin province, on Dec 22, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

JINAN - Thanks to Wang Zhelin's return and Eric Bledsoe's double-double, the Shanghai Sharks defeated the Guangdong Southern Tigers 122-115 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League on Friday.

Making a return from injury, Wang showed his dominance on the court. Scoring 10 points alone, Wang helped Shanghai take a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

When Shanghai extended the gap to 18 points, Guangdong made a 21-6 run to cut the deficit to just three points.

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The two teams engaged in an even more heated battle in the third quarter as Guangdong's star center forward Zhou Qi suffered an injury and left the court.

The final quarter witnessed a tug of war as the two teams tied 109-109 with not much time left. Led by Wang in the closing moments, Shanghai clinched the hard-earned victory.

In other matchups, Gao Shiyan and Marial Shayok combined for 57 points as the Shandong Heroes clinched a nail-biting 110-107 victory against the Beijing Ducks in overtime.

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Additionally, the Shanxi Loongs smashed the Nanjing Monkey Kings 123-117, the Jiangsu Dragons cruised past the Jilin Northeast Tigers 110-84, the Liaoning Flying Leopards edged the Qingdao Eagles 100-89, and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls defeated the Sichuan Blue Whales 104-98.