WITHOUT superstar Yao Ming (pic), China will face strong competition in the Asian Basketball Championships starting in Wuhan on Thursday, with holders Iran eager to prove they are the continent's new giants.

With a coveted ticket to the 2012 London Olympics at stake the action promises to be fierce with teams from Jordan, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Lebanon all aiming to challenge the front runners.

While China have won 14 Asian basketball championships and represented the region at every Olympiad since 1976, Iran have appeared in only two Olympics, in 1948 and in 2008, when China qualified automatically as hosts.

But power in Asia shifted west with the July retirement of former NBA superstar Yao, a move that has made Iran's towering giant Hamed Haddadi the continent's most dominant centre.

To counter Iran's size, China's American coach Bob Donewald will use two youthful seven-footers (2.12 metre) in Zhang Zhaoxu and Su Wei, while Washington Wizard power forward Yi Jianlian and former Dallas Maverick Wang Zhizhi will be tasked with scoring for the team.

The 16-team tournament is divided into three rounds, with the final round quarter-final knock out stage beginning on September 23.AFP