PKU beat Tsinghua to win division at top Chinese university basketball league

Photo taken on March 16, 2019 shows The opening ceremony of The 21st CUBA NorTheast Division in Peking University. (Photo courtesy of Peking University)

The Peking University basketball team has lifted Their fourth CUBA NorTheast Division Championship in a row after defeating Tsinghua University 74-69.

The PKU defender Zhang Ning was named The MVP after Sunday's game.

The PKU raced to a 11-0 lead at The start before Tsinghua coach Chen Lei called a timeout to deploy a different strategy. Tsinghua center Guo Feng played on The inside and quickly helped his squad take over. In The fourth quarter, The two teams took turns to lead. The PKU ended The drama with an inside-out offense. Zhang Ning and Wang Shaojie each scored 28 points.

"I'm excited for The victory. And I am happy to witness many positive changes have taken place in college basketball since I became coach in The PKU in 1985," said PKU coach Zhang Jian. "This year, The games got a boost when The home and away system was introduced. CUBA has always been a great platform for college basketball," said Zhang Jian.

Top six finishers in each of The four divisions will qualify for The last 32 while The 7th-10th place teams in each division will compete in The playoffs for The oTher eight berths.

The regional games will end on April 29th.