Former WNBA player Chen Nan paced defending champion PLA (People's Liberation Army) to take an opening win at China's 11th National Games, easing past Huibei 103-59 here on Saturday.

The 1.97m Chen, a rookie center in Chicago Sky of WNBA this season but quitting the team due to injuries, notched 14 points inabout 20 minutes. Chen's national team-member Sui Feifei, also a former WNBA player, pocketed 14 points in around 20 minutes too.

All the 12 players from team PLA, who claimed the title of the 10th Natioanl Games four years ago, signed their name on the scoring list, while the substitute center Liu Dan seized the top position with 16 points. Xin Shuang from the Hubei team buried a match-high 17 points, only to see her team suffer from an embarrassing defeat.

"The injury-plagued Chen Nan was not in her best shape," said Ma Yuenan, coach of the PLA team in the post-match conference.

"After returning from the USA, Chen immediately joined the national squad to take part in the Asian Championship, failing to have enough rest before fighting in the National Games. In order to protect the player from possible injuries, we will decide her time on the floor based on her physical conditions in the coming games," added Ma.

Jiangsu, runner-up of the previous edition of the tournament, crushed Chongqing 100-48 in a lopsided match up. Heilongjiang, led by Chinese international Miao Lijie outgunned Shanghai 88-85 in a thrilling game, while local team Shandong lost 55-64 to Guangdong.

Liaoning, newly crowned Chinese league champion, smashed Henan 105-78. And Beijing, the team from China's capital defeated Zhejiang 77-58.