SPORTS> Basketball
Qingdao DoubleStar becomes 18th CBA team
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-22 17:15

BEIJING -- Qingdao DoubleStar became the 18th team to compete at the 2008-2009 season of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) as the Beijing Aoshen failed to find a home court before the deadline, the CBA league office announced on Sunday.

The CBA league office decided the Beijing Aoshen gave up its right to compete as it had not provide enough files and home-court selection to the office before Saturday, according to the statement released on the official website of the Chinese Basketball Association, www.cba.gov.cn.

A league commissioner meeting on September 4 had appointed Qingdao DoubleStar as a backup to the Aoshen. The DoubleStar club vice president Wang Weili had admitted he had received a confirmation from the CBA league office on 6:00 pm on Sunday.

"Beijing Aoshen basketball club failed to provide enough files before the deadline of 3:00 pm on September 20, including the home-court selection, contracts of domestic players and permission files from provincial Sports Bureau. Therefore the Beijing Aoshen lost its chance to play in the 2008-2009 CBA season. Qingdao DoubleStar substitutes to play the CBA league next season," the statement on the website said.

Tianjin Ronggang, another team from the National Basketball League (NBL), had received the nods of the CBA league office to play in the 2008-09 CBA season at the meeting on September 4.