CHINESE basketball superstar Yao Ming will join the national team in a Sept. 3 exhibition game against the Melbourne Tigers in Shenzhen’s Bao’an Stadium, local newspapers reported Wednesday.

The average ticket will cost about 1,000 yuan (US$132), the Shenzhen Evening reported.

The match will mark Yao’s return to the national squad after he sat out the Stankovic Cup and the tour of Europe due to injury.

He is expected to join a strong lineup including former NBA player Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian, who was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks in this year’s draft.

The Melbourne Tigers won the Australian National Basketball League in 2006. (SD-Agencies)