QINGDAO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Shanxi Loongs erased a nine-point deficit in the final quarter, but the Shenzhen Aviators survived the drama of the last minute and edged out Shanxi 90-88 for a three-game winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Saturday.

"We trailed for most of the game but at least we played hard and won back our chance in the last minute," said Wang Fei, head coach of Shanxi. "Unfortunately we made mistakes in the last round of offense and defense."

Before the game, Shanxi ranked 11th in the standings, four wins ahead of Fujian, who for now occupied the last playoff spot, while Shenzhen, ranking 13th, was still technically in the playoff hunt five games behind Shanxi on the table. The game thus became a clash between two teams striving to clinch a berth in the postseason.

Shanxi trailed 66-75 as the fourth quarter started, but led 86-85 going into the last minute of the final quarter after Shenzhen missed three of four free throws. The Loongs then committed a shot clock violation with 52 seconds on the clock, and Gu Quan made a jump shot shortly afterwards, sending Shenzhen to an 87-86 lead after missing another free throw. Liu Guancen dribbled past the defence and finished, regaining the lead for Shanxi 88-87 with 11.3 seconds left. Gu Quan answered with a similar layup just four seconds later, and his teammate Li Muhao blocked Shanxi's final attempt in its last attack.

Shenzhen missed one more free-throw with 0.3 seconds to go, but a two-point margin was enough for a close win.

"I want to thank my players for their efforts until the last minute," said Wang Jianjun, head coach of Shenzhen. "We showed our rivals fierce defense despite some flaws in containing their shooters, and our 22 assists showed that we had good teamwork."

Shanxi poured in 14 three-pointers, but was outscored in the paint 22-44. Eleven players scored double-digits, six from Shenzhen and five from Shanxi, and Shenzhen's Yang Linyi put up a game-high 20 points.

Shanxi is scheduled to play against the Shandong Heroes on Tuesday, while Shenzhen will take on Fujian on the same day, which is likely to determine who will make it into the playoff between the pair.

"We will go all out and play like one man," said Wang. Enditem

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