NBL loses its major backer

Beijing - Although losing the support of its main partner, China's National Basketball League (NBL) still aims to expand this coming season.

Kenneth Huang, an American investor who partnered the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) to set up and operate the NBL last February, did not appear at the press conference to launch the season on Wednesday, nor did any of the staff members of Huang's QSL Sports, which was built to run the league.

Huang's absence triggered assumptions he had quit and Beijing Youth Daily reported on Thursday the 46-year-old had terminated his partnership with the league's governing body.