U-17 Basketball World Cup: Mali, Egypt Knocked Out

Mali and Egypt have been knocked out of the 2018 FIBA World Cup in Argentina after both teams lost their respective matches in the Round of 16.

Mali suffered a 65-74 defeat against Australia in the Round of 16 after the Australians dominated the match by winning three out of the four quarters. Mali only managed to win the third quarter 17-14.

In the group phase, Mali finished third in Group B after winning one out of four games.

Mali defeated China 83-71 and lost to Serbia and USA that finished top of the group. This year’s edition marked Mali’s second appearance in the competition after it made its debut appearance in the 2016 FIBA World Cup hosted in Spain.

Siriman Kanoute, 16, was the star player on the team after scoring 95 points-highest points scored so far in the competition- in four matches.

Elsewhere, Africa’s second representative Egypt -making its fifth appearance in the competition- also finished in the third position in Group C behind Canada and Montenegro. Similar to its African counterparts, Egypt also managed to secure a single victory out of four games. Youssef Osama Elmadawy was the team’s top performer. He scored 53 points in four games.

Since debuting in 2010, Egypt has not entered the quarterfinals of the youth basketball competition.

The FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-17 World Championship) is a tourney sanctioned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The event was staged for the first time in July 2010, and is held bi-annually.

Both teams qualified for the 2018 World Cup as finalists of the FIBA Under-16 African Championship. Mali defeated Egypt 76-65 in the 2017 finals to clinch its first championship.

Feature Image: fiba.com