BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 2022-2023 season of the China Basketball Association (CBA) league will officially tip off on October 10, the CBA announced here on Friday.

The first phase of the upcoming regular season will be played in a championship format at the Huanglong Sports Center and Hangzhou Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, with nine rounds of matches scheduled between October 10 and 30.

After that, the CBA will decide if to continue the season with a traditional home and away format based on the COVID-19 situation.

Twenty teams will participate in the new CBA season, which features a total of 42 rounds during the regular season.

The 20 teams are divided into four groups with five teams each. Each team will play in-group teams three times and out-of-group teams twice. The top 12 finishers in the regular season will advance to the playoffs, which include the round-of-12, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

The CBA also revealed figures about registration and transfer during the off-season. Statistics showed that 63 players were registered for the first time in the CBA league, of which 20 were drafted and 43 were promoted from clubs' youth training systems. Thirty-three players were traded, including 13 transfers, 15 free agents signed, two transferred exclusive signing rights and three players on loan.

CBA president Yao Ming, who was with the Chinese women's basketball team for the World Cup in Australia, delivered a video speech.

"I can still feel the excitement of last season's Finals, and the new season is just around the corner. Please pay more attention to the CBA league and Chinese basketball", Yao said.