Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (11) towers over Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon of England during the second half of their NBA game in Houston November 16, 2006.[Reuters]

The reigning Asian champion will leave for Doha again later this month for the 2006 Doha Asian Games. With NBA star center Yao Ming missing from the squad this time, can China prevail against Asian opponents again?

Chinese basketball officials regarded the Doha Asian Games as a must-win campaign.

"We must win the gold medal at Doha," said Hu Jiashi, vice president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

"Of course the Chinese team will be affected a little by Yao's absence, but on the other hand some young talents will have the opportunity to show off," Hu added.

Yi Jianlian, 19, who averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 block shots per game for defending champion the Guangdong Hongyuan in this season's CBA league, is expected to make his name better known internationally in his debut at the Asian sports gala.

"Now I am not thinking too much about going to the NBA, I am focusing on the Asian Games," said the 2.11-meter center/forward. "Four years ago the Chinese team failed to win the gold medal at Busan, this time we will try our best to secure the title."

China's Lithuanian head coach Jonas Kazlauskas also had high expectations for Yi.

"The better he plays and the more contributions he makes to help China win at Doha, the better chance he will have in next year's NBA draft," Jonas said.

Former NBA player Wang Zhizhi will be another key player when China seeks the top honor in the capital of Qatar. It was during the 2002 Busan Asian Games that Wang was expelled from the national team for refusing to join the summer camp of the team for the 2002 World Championships and the Asian Games.

Following a four-year exile, Wang renewed national duty early this year but had an lackluster performance at the World Championship last fall in Japan. Thus, the Doha Asian Games will be a perfect chance for the 29-year-old veteran to lead Yao-less China to the victory and justify himself.

With the Chinese the hot favorites to win the Doha Asian Games men's basketball tournament, which is slated for November 23 to December 15, Asian runner-up Lebanon, a surprising winner over France in the World Championship preliminaries, and South Korea, who erased a seven-point deficit in the last 32.5 seconds of the fourth quarter before stunning China 102-100 in overtime for the gold at the Busan Asian Games, will be top challengers.