BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Guangdong Southern Tigers held off the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 101-98 and the Beijing Royal Fighters withstood a late Tianjin Pioneers rally to win 92-89 in the second round of the 2025-26 Chinese Basketball Association regular season on Tuesday.

Guangdong and Zhejiang were locked in a tight contest throughout. Jared Sullinger split two free throws with 1.7 seconds left as Guangdong moved three points clear, and Liu Zeyi's half-court attempt at the buzzer missed.

Guangdong has opened the season with two straight wins, while handing Zhejiang a second consecutive defeat.

Guangdong had six players score in double figures, with Edmond Sumner leading the way on 21 points.

"After building a double-digit lead in the third quarter, we lost concentration on guarding their 3-pointers. That's what our young players need to improve. Meanwhile, in the second game of the season, we have seen better chemistry within the team," said Guangdong coach Du Feng.

Despite the loss, Zhejiang forward Zhang Hongshuo led his side with 18 points.

In Beijing, Tianjin nearly wiped out a 14-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter and closed to 91-89 with nine seconds remaining. After Beijing forward Meng Zikai missed a free throw, Lin Ting-chien's potential game-tying 3-pointer came up well short.

Five Beijing players reached double figures, led by Liao Sanning's 20 points, while Shen Zijie posted 15 points and 10 rebounds.

"Every battle is tough for us, and it depends on how we approach the game. Facing a shooting-oriented team like Tianjin, we need quality defense to restrain their key players, but we didn't execute it well from start to finish," Beijing coach Zhang Qingpeng remarked.

Liao echoed Zhang's opinion, saying, "When leading in the game, we were not quite focused and didn't execute our game plan well."

Lin scored a game-high 33 points for Tianjin, and Javion Hamlet added 19.

In Tuesday's other games, the Shenzhen Aviators beat the Jilin Northeast Tigers 99-81, the Shanxi Loongs defeated the Ningbo Rockets 95-87, the Nanjing Monkey Kings downed the Shanghai Sharks 105-97, and the Fujian Sturgeons routed the Jiangsu Dragons 104-80.

On Monday, the Liaoning Flying Leopards beat the defending champion Zhejiang Lions 95-79, the Qingdao Eagles thrashed the Sichuan Blue Whales 96-64, and the Beijing Ducks crushed the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 111-84. ■