A US team of National Basketball Association stars competing in next month's World Championships at Japan will play two exhibition games in China, USA Basketball announced.

The American squad, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, will train in Guangzhou on August 6 and play exhibition games there on August 7 against China and the next day against Brazil.

The games will mark the first time a US team with NBA players has competed in China and should help the US lineup become familiar with the host nation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

US players, including star guard Dwyane Wade from the NBA champion Miami Heat, have made a three-year commitment to the national team that would see them through the World Championships, possible 2007 Olympic qualifying and the Games.

"The overall training that we're doing lends itself perfectly to playing in Japan and what we're going to do two years later when we are hopefully playing in China," US coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

"To play a couple of games in China and spend a few days there will not only help us for Japan but it will help us for 2008 and Beijing."

The US squad gathers July 19 at Las Vegas for a week-long training camp and returns July 31 for four days to determine a final roster, before they then play together for the first time in an exhibition there against Puerto Rico.

The team will fly to Asia and resume work at Guangzhou before facing China and Brazil in the China Basketball Challenge, tickets for which go on sale Saturday.

The Americans then travel to Seoul for training and to participate in a series of six warm-up games for the World Championships, facing Lithuania on August 13 and the South Korean hosts on August 15.

US players will have five games in six days to open the FIBA World Championships, starting August 19 against Puerto Rico and the next day against China and continuing with games August 22 against Slovenia, August 23 against Italy and August 24 against Senegal before knockout stages if they advance.

(AFP via China Daily July 8, 2006)