Pensioner basketballers ready for European test

There are more prizes to be won this summer than just the FIFA World Cup, and Great Britain's Men's Over 65s basketball team hopes to claim one of them.

The squad, made up of players aged 65 to 69, will begin their campaign at the European Championships in Greece on Saturday.

It comes after the team completed their final weekend training camp at Cheslyn Hay Leisure Centre in Staffordshire.

Speaking at the camp, retired dentist Gordon Shovlin said: "We play to win, we take it seriously."

The 66-year-old from Dudley added: "I've been through a number of teams through the years, and it's great camaraderie, it's great for your physical health but mental health as well.

"It's a bunch of guys together and we get a chance to have locker room chats, which a lot of guys normally don't.

"So all round, it's a really good thing. I would recommend it to anybody."

The tournament in Athens will run until 5 July with Shovlin and his teammates competing against 20 teams from around Europe.

The man tasked with masterminding a successful campaign is Bob Mitchell, who grew up in Smethwick but now lives just outside Coventry.

The 74-year-old even began studying ancient Greek philosophy to help his team perform.

"I just happened to be looking at Athens where we were staying and something cropped up about stoicism.

"So I researched it further and I've written a paper on it, which they've all had.

"And it's incredible how something that was created in 300 BC and now the principles of it can now be embraced in basketball."

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