Zhou Qi helps Xinjiang beat Bayi 102-82 in CBA

QINGDAO - Zhou Qi collected 21 points and 17 rebounds as the Xinjiang Flying Tigers swept the Bayi Rockets 102-82 in the 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Monday night.

"Xinjiang give us major pressure on defense and players on the court kept losing their positions in transition, I hope we can learn from the lesson and don't take any steps backwards," Wang Zhizhi, the head coach of Bayi said.

Xinjiang opened on a 13-3 run while Bayi was limited on 1-for-12 shooting. Bayi used a pair of 3-pointers from Ning Hongyu to trim the deficit.

Zeng Lingxu deferred to Tang Caiyu on back-to-back 3-pointers before Kyranbek Makan added another, and Xinjiang regained an 11-point lead and finished the second quarter with 48-35.

Xinjiang set the tone in the third quarter when Zhou Qi hit two jumpers from beyond the arc and Tang scored five straight points to take a 21-point lead.

The final quarter was nothing more than a training time for sides' younger players before Xinjiang comfortably closed out the game.

Arslan got 19 points for Bayi while facing the team of his father Adiljan, the head coach of Xinjiang.

"His work paid off during tough times before, and I'm glad to see he shows more tenacity now," Adiljan praised his son.

Tang hit a game-high 24 points for Xinjiang, while veteran Zeng Lingxu had 13 assists.

"We picked up energy and played far better than the first game, and I'm proud of my group," said Adiljan.