Xinjiang's center Zhou defends CBA Player of the Week honor

BEIJING - Xinjiang Flying Tigers center Zhou Qi claimed the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Player of the Week award for the third straight week on Sunday.

Nanjing Monkey Kings guard Joseph Young stood out among the overseas players for the weekly award due to his glittering offensive performance over the past week.

Zhou averaged 27.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks as second-placed Xinjiang won both games across the week.

Xinjiang have already secured a place in the top four after the regular season, meaning they can enjoy a bye in the round of 12 stage of the playoffs.

Nanjing's opponents found it a mission impossible to contain Young as the scoring fanatic logged 60.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 7.0 steals per contest, including his 74 points, the third-highest personal single-game scoring show in CBA history, against the Shandong Heroes on July 13.

Spearheaded by Young, Nanjing won two matches out of three during the spell.