On Tuesday China announced its team for the upcoming men's basketball World Championships.

The much-debated Chen Jianghua, a 17-year-old point guard, is included in the 12-member lineup.

Also included on the list is 21-year-old Zhang Songtao, center with the Beijing Aoshen. Zhang's team was excluded from the domestic league CBA due to registration problems. But, his inclusion now reflects the current plight of the national team to fill its center position, since stars Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi are both plagued by injuries.

Other team members include guards Liu Wei, Sun Yue, Wang Shipeng and Zhang Qingpeng and forwards and centers Mo Ke, Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu and Du Feng.

The world championships are set to kick off on Friday in Japan. China has been grouped with the US, Italy, Puerto Rico, Slovenia and Senegal for the competition.

(CRI August 15, 2006)