The Beijing Ducks beat the Qingdao Eagles 81-76 as the inaugural Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Club Cup kicked off on Tuesday.

Nuni Omot (L) of Beijing Ducks goes up for a basket during a match between Qingdao Eagles and Beijing Ducks at the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Club Cup in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 12, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

The CBA Club Cup, a new tournament, will be held in a tournament format, consisting of a group stage and a final stage. In the first stage, the 20 teams will be divided into four groups and compete in a single round-robin format within their respective regions. In the final stage, there will be single elimination matches to determine the champion, the runner-up, the third place, and the fourth place. The results will not be included in the final results of the regular season.

In the first match of the Qingdao division, the home team Qingdao faced a challenge from Beijing, who is leading the league standings with a record of 9 wins and one loss in the first stage of the CBA regular season.

Throughout the first half, the scores of both teams alternated without either side gaining a significant advantage.

In the third quarter, Lv Junhu and Jordan Mickey scored key points to help the home team lead at 68-58. But in the last quarter, Beijing rallied to beat Qingdao 81-76 eventually.

Mickey impressed with 28 points and seven rebounds for Qingdao, while Eugene German and Nuni Omot each pocketed 19 points for Beijing.

"What we care about is not the result of the game, but the performance of our young players. Today's game mirrors their skills and condition. And I hope everyone can let go a little more," said Liu Weiwei, coach of the home team.

Elsewhere, the Sichuan Blue Whales beat the Jilin Northeast Tigers 92-79, the Jiangsu Dragons ushered the Guangdong Southern Tigers 77-62, the Fujian Sturgeons smashed the Ningbo Rockets 118-96, the Shanghai Sharks nosed out the Shanxi Loongs 88-84, the Shandong Heroes defeated the Zhejiang Lions 68-61, the Beijing Royal Fighters edged the Tianjin Pioneers 117-116, and the Nanjing Monkey Kings surpassed the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 102-96.