Over 100 matches from next season's Chinese domestic basketball league will be cancelled as the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) is ordered to dedicate itself to the preparation of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The CBA league had a meeting on Wednesday and decided to cancel one home-and-away series in the same conference.

Starting from last season, teams from the same conferences played two home-and-away matches and one set against teams from other conferences.

Teams in the 2006-2007 season however, will play only one home-and-away series against each team, resulting in 112 matches to be cut from the regular season.

The 2006-2007 season will be concluded on April 1 which could see the final series be played out by seven games, according to the schedule of the 2005-2006 season.

One more team, Zhejiang Guangsha, is added into the North Conference of the 15-team league.

The 2007-2008 season will also be cut short as the State General Administration of Sport ordered the domestic league to give way to the Olympic preparation.

The CBA league signed multiple million US dollars contracts with sponsors last year, which will expire after the 2008 Games.
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(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2006)