A BARROVIAN wheelchair basketball star has been named MVP as Great Britain secured victory at the Kitakyushu Champions Cup in Japan.

Tyler Baines put in a man of the match performance in the final by scoring 22 points in GB Men U30’s 60:48 win against South Korea.

Joey Johnson’s GB Men U30 side won all five of their games in the 5x5 competition held between November 10-12.

On the opening day they beat Korea 63:59 and they followed that victory up with a comprehensive 63:42 win against Japan.

GB then narrowly took the win in a thrilling spectacle over Korea again on Saturday (65:64) before being victorious against Japan in the final play-off game (66:38).

The competition was an excellent development opportunity for Tyler to reaffirm his place in Johnson’s GB Men’s senior team.

Proud dad Mark Baines said: “To win all five matches with one of the youngest squads GB have ever fielded is an incredible achievement.

“It couldn’t have gone much better. All 12 players must be so proud.

“Tyler putting in a storming performance in the final was excellent to watch and then for him to go on and receive the MVP for the tournament was the icing on the cake.

“Both Japan and Korea were very physical and GB were on the wrong end of some rough treatment. Tyler is bruised from top to toe but in typical fashion, he just dusted himself down and got on with the job in hand. He’s absolutely buzzing.!

The competition also hosted a school programme that saw the GB team visit schools with the aim of inspiring the next generation of players.