The New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian has confirmed to miss the Chinese National Games, the organisers said on Thursday. Yi, hailing from Guangdong province, hoped to help his hometown team to claim the first ever National Games title in the quadrennial event. But the 2.13m Cantonese will have to miss the event as the Nets won't let him go, citing the busy preparation for the new NBA season in USA.

Without the aid from Yi, the CBA title holder Guangdong still took the opener of the group stage after beating Hubei 105-94 on Tuesday.

Chinese center Yao Ming had earlier said no to the tournament due to his injury, but the national men's basketball tournament, slated for Oct. 20-28, will still see a big box office featuring former NBA stars Wang Zhizhi and Menk Bateer.