The Chinese Army wrapped up its amazing run in the men's basketball competition, defeating Guangdong 71-60 on Saturday to defend the title here at the National Games. (Photo: Xinhua)

    NANJING, East China, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet,by sportswriter Shan Lei) -- The Chinese Army wrapped up its amazing run in the men's basketball competition, defeating Guangdong 71-60 on Saturday to defend the title here at the National Games.

    The powerhouse, who saw off hosts Jiangsu 84-65 in the semi-finals, cracked down the hope of the reigning champion of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league of last season.

    Perennial power forward Liu Yudong chipped in the game-high 27 points while veteran guard Li Nan contributing 17 points for the victory.

    Liu, 35, beat the buzzer with a game-winning 3-pointer in the Army's 91-88 finals win over Shanghai, led by Houston Rockets' center Yao Ming, in the last version of the tournament in 2001 at Guangzhou.

    "This is my fourth time to compete in the National Games, and the Army had won them all. Tonight's title is the most difficult one of the fours, also the most exciting one in my career," said Liu, who is planning to retire after the National Games.

    "We were underdogs entering the competition, but tonight we showed that the Bayi Spirit, which is hard-working and never giving up, will never die," the Army's coach Adijiang said.

    "I cannot think anything now. I almost cannot speak. The victory says all," Adijiang added.

    After exchanging the lead a couple of time, the Army took the upper hand to conclude the first quarter by 19-15.

    Trailing as many as 11 points, Guangdong, which is composed of four national capped players of Zhu Fangyu, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng and Yi Jianlian, closed the gap to 55-53 midway in the fourth quarter.

    Adijiang called a time-out with less than two minutes left. Liu returned the court with a 3-pointer to give the Army a 67-58 lead for the good.

    "They beat us by experiences," said Guangdong's center Yi, who had 23 points.

    "I have to give credit to the Army. They may be not the best team in the CBA, but they are the best in the National Games," said Guangdong's coach Li Chunjiang.

    In the bronze medal final, Jiangsu defeated Liaoning 83-72 withpoint guard Hu Xuefeng's 18 points and five steals.

    The host led from the very beginning and never trailed throughout the game.

    Li Xiaoxu had the game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for Liaoning, who beat Jiangsu 48-37 on the board. Enditem