TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Perennial basketball powerhouse National Chengchi University won the first Asian University Basketball League tournament, defeating Beijing's Tsinghua University in the finals 82-79 on Sunday, per Liberty Times.

The inaugural tournament brought together 12 university teams from across Asia for a week-long competition. Plans are already underway to expand the field to 16 teams, potentially involving regional competition outside of this year's host city, Hangzhou, China.

In group competition, NCCU cruised to a 2-0 record, earning a spot in the final eight. In the subsequent knock-out round, NCCU beat Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Mongolia's Ertugen University to advance to the championship.

NCCU faced a formidable opponent in Beijing's Tsinghua University, which took third place in the Chinese University Basketball League this year. The first quarter went back-and-forth, with late scoring by Sung Hsin-hao (宋昕澔) giving NCCU a 24-20 lead heading into the second.

In the second quarter, NCCU continued scoring with strong three-point shooting, running out to a double-digit lead. But Tsinghua clawed back and took a 49-46 lead at the half.

After the break, NCCU rattled off seven consecutive points to extend the lead to 60-52. However, the team would soon encounter a scoring drought, entering the fourth quarter trailing 59-61.

In the final quarter, NCCU captain Sung led the team on a 10-0 run, building a 15-point lead. Tsinghua was able to get closer, but ended up losing 82-79.

Sung led his team with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. He was followed by Hsu Te-chi (徐得祈), who contributed 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists.