BUENOS AIRES - Argentinean basketball player Luis Scola on Tuesday regretted the retirement of Chinese Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Scola said that Yao was "a very good companion" who "opened many doors" in China.

Scola also said that he was not surprised by Yao's decision, because he had "two years without playing" for physical problems.

"One day I saw one of his ultrasound scan and he had more than 30 nails in one leg. We knew there was a high percentage of this to happen and that he would not play again. It was not a surprise for me," Scola said.

Scola told TV sports channel ESPN that he had a good relationship with Yao, because he made Scola "things easier so I enjoyed playing with him."

Yao joined the NBA in 2002 and had an average of 19 points and 9.2 rebounds per match.