Beijing ? Basketball standout Yao Ming is suing Coca-Cola’s Chinese subsidiary in an effort to stop it from using his picture on commemorative bottles sold in his hometown of Shanghai.

According to Yao’s Web site, he’s seeking compensation of only 1 yuan (12 cents) for “spiritual and economic losses” and also wants Coca-Cola China to apologize in the Chinese media.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Shanghai, where a court will decide this week whether to accept it, the Houston center’s agent, Erik Zhang, said Monday.

“The only purpose of this lawsuit is to protect Yao Ming’s legal rights, his rights of image and name in particular,” the Web site said. “The amount of compensation is not a focus.”

Yao, who has an endorsement deal with soft-drink rival Pepsi, complained two weeks ago about Coke using his image and threatened legal action.