Dongguan wins CBA opener in a 107-101 overtime thriller

Dongguan wins CBA opener in a 107-101 overtime thriller

DONGGUAN, South China, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Mike Harris scored 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, both the game high, to lead the Dongguan Marco Polo to beat Jiangsu Dragons 107-101 overtime in the opener of the 2008-09 season of the Chinese Men's Basketball Association league (CBA) here on Saturday.

The game kicked off a brand-new CBA season which will be the longest in the history, with the most 18 teams competing in the first season after the Beijing Olympic Games.

Donnell Harvey had 27 points and 21 rebounds for Jiangsu while Yi Li adding 19 points and six rebounds.

Hu Xuefeng, who had 17 points, six steals, six assists and five rebounds, made two crucial steals down the stretch to help Jiangsutie it on 94-94 in the regular time.

It was the visitors who hit the target first when Yi initiated a 11-0 run with the first basket of the season, a 3-pointer.

Dongguan, which finished fourth last season, answered with four consecutive three-point plays to level it on 20-20 before Jiangsu pulled away again by 52-42 in the second quarter.

Coming back strongly in the second half, the home team used a 18-2 run to take the control of the game on 64-56 midway in the third quarter.

"We started flatly at the beginning. But my team did great job on defence, especially in the overtime, to win the game," Dongguan's coach Yang Xuezeng said.

Guard Wang Jing scored 19 points for Dongguan, which is aiming for the first Final appearance this season, while Meng Duo chipped in 14.

The other eight games in the first round will be played across the country on Sunday.