National basketball squad named for Maldives

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) on Friday announced a ten-member squad for the five-nation Maldives international event starting from June 15. Besides Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal will be seen in action in the event to be played from June 15-22. PBBF Secretary Khalid Bashir said the event will be a fresh beginning for basketball.

“Five-nation championship will be a door opener for event-starved Pakistan players. The main purpose of the event is to get international flavor.” The event will be the first after getting affiliation from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). “We are grateful to Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ehsanur Rehman Mazari and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Shoaib Khoso for their full support and assistance,” the PBBF secretary said. The Greenshirts will be led by the country’s premier professional shooting guard Muhammad Shahbaz Ali. Former international Malik Muhammad Riaz will be the head coach. The national team is finalised after evaluating skills of the players by the selection committee comprising Col (r) Shujaat Ali Rana, Riaz Malik, Modood Jafri and Khalid Bashir during the training camp which lasted for a month at Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad.

Pakistan squad: Muhammad Shahbaz Ali (captain), Abdul Wahab, Muhammad Umair Jan, Zainul Hassan Khan, Muhammad Shahid, Imad Ahmed, Zia Ur Rehman, Saqibullah Mahsood, Mahtab Akram and Sheraz Aslam. Officials: Malik Muhammad Riaz (head coach), Umer Mehmood (coach), Ahmed Ali Teepu (manager).