A dispute has emerged within Pakistan’s basketball community following the participation of Islamabad Panthers’ Under-18 and Under-16 teams in the 13th Asia Pacific Cup 3x3 basketball tournament in Singapore, with the Sindh Basketball Association (SBA) claiming it was kept in the dark about the opportunity.

The SBA issued a press release on Thursday stating it was never informed by the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) about the chance to enroll a team from Sindh, calling transparency into question.

However, an official from the Federal Basketball Association (FBBA) told Dawn.com on condition of anonymity that all regional units were duly notified.

“When we received the notification from PBBF, we showed our interest in participating in the U-18 event,” the official said. “This is a club-based event, and we held trials in Islamabad where a lot of players participated.”

He explained that with the postponement of the National Youth Games for U-16, the FBBA decided to also send a U-16 team to provide exposure.

“All we wanted was for players to compete at a high level and gain experience,” he added.

According to the official, the selection was strictly merit-based. Eight players were shortlisted for each category, with four finally chosen to travel.

Financing was a shared effort: the FBA covered the $420 registration fee, accommodation, and food, while players bore their travel and incidental expenses.

The U-16 squad comprised Behram Raees, Shershah Durrani, Rayyan Khan Jadoon and Yousuf Raja. The U-18 team included Moosa Hassan, Shahmeer Syed, Ibrahim Raja and Mohammad Ayaan. They were accompanied by managers Omer Mehmood and Yasir Ghaffar.

On the court, it was a challenging outing. The U-16 team lost all three of its matches so far, while the U-18 side secured one victory in three fixtures.

The tournament, which began on October 22, concludes on October 26.