The 16 teams attending the World Cup U-19 Basketball Championship in Cairo's Indoor Hall were fascinated with the event's opening ceremony, not least because it was attended by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, under whose auspicious it is being held. A mix of joy, pride and relief were on the faces of the Egyptian players and the huge crowd of 9,000 fans during the opening that also had the famed youth band Sharmoovers moving the crowds with their pulsating sound. Under-19 Basketball World Cup Best of all, Egypt beat Puerto Rico 67-65 to get off to the perfect start. “This is an amazing feeling. It was our goal to win this game. Now we want to win more games,” Egyptian captain Omar Farag said after the victory. “It's such a pleasure to make the fans happy. We came to make them happy. I'm glad we could do that.” The 2017 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, being held from 1-9 July, is the first FIBA world youth men's event to take place on African soil. “It is one of the happiest days in my life in basketball because I always wanted to have a FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Egypt. It means a lot to me and everyone here,” organising committee director Mohamed Abdel-Motaleb said. Under-19 Basketball World Cup “We told the players to do their best to please their fans that came from all around Egypt to cheer their team on. A lot of people are facing a severe economic situation and a lot of people are suffering. We just wanted to put a smile on their faces,” added Abdel-Motaleb. “That's not all. We still have a lot to do,” Abdel-Motaleb said. Egypt head coach, the Spaniard Juan Orenga, who was hired specifically for the tournament, said that “for us, this game was very tough, very difficult because it was the first game. There was the opening ceremony. The team never played in front of so many people,” Orenga said. “Our road to try to do something and go to the final eight was to beat Puerto Rico. The one opportunity to not play France, the juniors world champions, in the round of 16, was to beat Puerto Rico. That is what we wanted.” Under-19 Basketball World Cup But due to injuries, the young Pharaohs lost to Lithuania, the U-19 European Championships runner ups, 88-50 in a shock loss. The Egyptians were obviously in awe of their opponent which hampered their defence and shot-making. Egypt is to meet Germany in a game that will decide who it will meet in the next round. At the time of printing, Lithuania had won two matches, collecting four points to be the top of the group while Egypt and Germany shared second place with three points. Puerto Rico is in the bottom with two points. Magdi Abu Friekha, the Egyptian Basketball Federation president, said, “We have been working hard since we were honoured with organising such a big event and to be chosen as the first African and Middle East country to host it. I am proud that our event was inaugurated by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and I hope that our national team will be up to the challenge as we have a golden chance playing in Egypt. Our national team comprises junior players who are very talented and some of whom are professionals abroad.” Salah El-Mejri, a Tunisian basketball player, the only Arab player playing in the NBA, with the Dallas Mavericks, attended the event as he was part of a programme held alongside the U-19 World Cup for juniors and young basketball players who are interested to learn more about the NBA. El-Mejri was pleased to be part of the event. “I have not been in Egypt in such a long time. I came in 2009 but I did not have a chance to visit the Pyramids or go around Cairo. I am very happy this time. I think the Egyptian organisation of the event is fantastic. Also the president of Egypt attending the opening ceremony gave the event a different taste. I also felt that basketball is a very popular sport in Egypt and has a huge base of fans, mainly youth.” As to the performance of the Egyptian basketball team, El-Mejri said the team has a number of good players who performed well in front of Puerto Rico and started their game well in front of Lithuania but soon lost hope “and fell back for no clear reason”. He predicted the US, Lithuania, France and Spain would compete for the finals.
