Guangdong Southern Tigers power forward Yi Jianlian (L) playing for the China national team in this file photo. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former NBA player Yi Jianlian, who has previously played for Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks, helped Guangdong win their match against Beijing, 103-98, last Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Yi scored 27 points and 10 rebounds during the game, which was part of the 32nd round of the 2016-2017 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league action.
Guangdong kicked off the game impressively as Zhou Peng contributed 13 points to put the team on the lead on the first quarter, 34-21. Keeping up the momentum, they closed the first half with a 15-point lead, 46-61.
Meanwhile, Beijing, with the help of Stephon Marbury, nearly closed the gap and "even had the chance to win in the last quarter," the article noted.
Nonetheless, Guangdong regained the lead with the five points that came from Zhuo Zhandong and Ren Junfei.
The team's victory was sealed when Yi, who was fouled behind the arc in the last 18.1 seconds, scored three free throws and blocked Beijing's Zhang Songtao.
Guangdong served as Yi's first professional basketball team. His earlier years with the Southern Tigers won him accolades such as Rookie of the Year and CBA's 2006 Finals' Rookie of the Year.
Apart from his CBA and NBA stints, he has also played for the country's national basketball team, taking part in the Olympics (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and in the FIBA World Championships (2006, 2010).
During last Sunday's game, Beijing's Marbury racked in a game-high score of 32 points, while teammate Zhai Xiaochuan recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds.
On the league's 32nd round, defending champs Sichuan won over Shanxi, 111-101; Guangsha beat Jiangsu, 110-107; Aolong defeated Guangzhou, 109-100; Shenzhen downed Tianjin, 117-111; and Xinjiang edged Fujian, 138-115.
On the other hand, Jilin lost to Shandong, 98-95, same as how Zhejiang, Qingdao and Bayi were overwhelmed by Tongxi (114-112), Shanghai (115-109) and Liaoning (77-96), respectively.
