BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Sharks cruised into the semifinals with a dominant 96-68 victory over the Shandong Heroes, while the Guangdong Southern Tigers edged the Beijing Ducks 102-99 in overtime to level their quarterfinal series 1-1 in the 2025-26 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoffs on Saturday.
Top seed Shanghai defeated Shandong 96-68 to enter the semifinals as the overseas duo Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Brandon Goodwin combined for 33 points. Wang Zhelin scored 14 points and added six rebounds to seal the victory.
Shandong's Chen Linjian scored 21 points but failed to save his team in the second-round match of the series.
Beijing took a 1-0 series lead and blew the game open with a 52-43 lead in the first half. However, Guangdong's Trevelin Queen dominated the match with 39 points, eight assists, and nine rebounds to level the score 91-91 in the regular time.
In overtime, the two teams traded the lead, and the score was 99-99 in the last minute. At the last second of the first overtime, Guangdong's Zhang Haojia scored the last-gasp three-pointer to help his team take the thrilling victory and level the series 1-1 to maintain the hope to qualify.
Beijing's Omari Spellman scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while his teammate Zhou Qi scored 13 points and added eight rebounds.
"It's a tough victory. I'm so proud of the athletes. We will strive to gain a good result in the next match," said Guangdong head coach Du Feng.
The decisive match between Guangdong and Beijing will be played in Beijing on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. ■
