A WHEELCHAIR basketball player from Barrow is heading to Japan to represent Great Britain at an international tournament.

Tyler Baines has been selected to compete in 5x5 matches for the Under 30s squad in the 20th Kitakyushu Champions Cup.

Great Britain will compete against senior teams from Japan and South Korea this weekend.

The 21-year-old has won a bronze medal for England at the Commonwealth in Birmingham and most recently featured for Joey Johnson’s GB Men’s senior team having played in the Five Nations Tournament in Belgium earlier this year.

He currently plays his club basketball for Manchester Revolution at the Bellevue Sports Village where he received the MVP award in his first game for accumulating 19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

From an early outset, it was evident Tyler had a talent for the sport having come through the ranks at Carlisle Panthers before breaking into the Great British Academy team at the age of 17, and then signing his first professional contract with Spanish side Amivel Reyes Gutierrez.

His dad Mark Baines is extremely proud of his son’s achievements and will be doing all he can to watch the matches in Japan, which he says might be a difficult task because of the nine-hour time difference.

“It’s a very young GB squad that they’ve taken out to Japan but it’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone,” he said.

“Tyler and his teammate Jack Perry have already been involved with the senior squad of 18 players, so I hope that experience can put them in good stead for the week ahead.”

All games will be streamed via the event’s YouTube channel here.