Mohamad Shahbaz Ali to lead Pakistan in the international basketball championship
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD:-The four-man selection committee of Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) headed by Khalid Bashir named a 10-player squad for the upcoming 5-nation international basketball championship starting from June 15, 2023, in the Maldives. Col (Retd) Shujaat Ali Rana, Mohammad Riaz Malik, and Modood Jafri were members of the selection committee.
According to an official of PBBF, after getting the official affiliation with Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) this year 2023, the top management of PBBF headed by Brig. (R) Mohamad Iftikhar Mansoor and Secretary General Khalid Bashir took vital steps to organize national events as well as send Pakistan teams abroad for international competitions. Besides Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal will take part in the five-nation fixture, which will be held from June 15 to 22, 2023 in Male, Maldives.
Secretary PBBF Khalid Bashir said:
“The five countries’ basketball event will be helpful for the Pakistan team to get good exposure, as our players will take part in an international competition after seven years. This tournament will be a door opener for talented basketball players to represent Pakistan, the main purpose of participating in the event is to provide opportunities to the players so that they can get experience as PBBF set the target of the Pakistan basketball team to win the medal in upcoming South Asian Games to be held next year.”
“PBBF is especially grateful to Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari and Director General Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Shoaib Khoso for their full support and assistance that make it possible for PBBF to train the spikers in the camp for more than a month as well as Pakistan team participation at international level. PBBF associates the efforts of Secretary Ouj-e-Zahoor for organizing the camp and coordination between all relevant departments.”
Pakistan squad:
Mohamad Shahbaz Ali (captain), Abdul Wahab, Mohamad Umair Jan, Zain ul Hassan Khan, Mohamad Shahid, Imad Ahmed, Zia Ur Rehman, Saqib Ullah Mahsood, Mahtab Akram, Sheraz Aslam
Officials: Malik Mohammad Riaz (head coach), Umer Mehmood (coach), Ahmed Ali Teepu (manager)
