Sharife Cooper (L) of Liaoning Flying Leopards drives the ball during the 4th round regular season match between Liaoning Flying Leopards and Xinjiang Flying Tigers at the 2026-2027 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Ducks and Liaoning Flying Leopards maintained their unbeaten starts to the 2026-27 Chinese Basketball Association season with their fourth consecutive victories on Sunday, while defending champion Shanghai Sharks returned to winning ways with a narrow victory over the Fujian Sturgeons.
Beijing cruised to a 117-73 home victory over the Guangzhou Loong Lions, with Barry Brown Jr. scoring 29 points and dishing out seven assists. Chen Ying-chun added 22 points and eight assists.
The Ducks took control from the outset, racing to a 32-16 lead after the first quarter before extending their advantage to 64-35 at halftime.
Moses Brown led Guangzhou with 20 points and 13 rebounds, but could not prevent his side from suffering a heavy defeat.
Liaoning also improved to 4-0 with a 98-87 home victory over the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, led by another impressive performance from Sharife Cooper.
Cooper finished with 27 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, while Marquese Chriss contributed 19 points and eight rebounds. Jiang Yuxing added 15 points for the Flying Leopards.
"We controlled the last minutes of the game, so I'm very happy for the win," said Liaoning head coach Hugo Lopez.
"I feel like the team is working well."
Elsewhere, Shanghai edged Fujian 94-89 in a closely contested encounter, with Goodwin producing a decisive fourth-quarter performance to help the defending champion return to winning ways.
Goodwin scored 15 of his game-high 30 points in the final period and finished with six rebounds, 11 assists and two steals.
The Guangdong Southern Tigers defeated the Ningbo Rockets 86-77, while the Shanxi Loongs eased past the Jiangsu Dragons 101-79 and the Shandong Heroes beat the Tianjin Pioneers 105-93.
The Zhejiang Golden Bulls recorded the day's most emphatic victory, thrashing the Sichuan Blue Whales 91-49, while the Jilin Northeast Tigers edged the Zhejiang Lions 82-81 in the closest contest of the round.
The Beijing Royal Fighters cruised past the Shenzhen Aviators 103-70, and the Qingdao Eagles claimed their first victory of the season with a 101-80 win over the Nanjing Monkey Kings. ■
Cameron Young (L) of Xinjiang Flying Tigers tries to block Kyler Edwards of Liaoning Flying Leopards during the 4th round regular season match between Liaoning Flying Leopards and Xinjiang Flying Tigers at the 2026-2027 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Kyler Edwards (R) of Liaoning Flying Leopards drives the ball during the 4th round regular season match between Liaoning Flying Leopards and Xinjiang Flying Tigers at the 2026-2027 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Sharife Cooper (L) of Liaoning Flying Leopards passes the ball during the 4th round regular season match between Liaoning Flying Leopards and Xinjiang Flying Tigers at the 2026-2027 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
