After 29 long and futile years, Egypt has finally claimed that elusive victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, crushing Mexico 100-72 in a battle of two also-ran squads in Group D at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Tuesday.
This victory has also ended the Pharaohs’ 19-game losing streak in the preliminary round of the World Cup.
“From what I understand, there haven’t been many wins for Egypt in the World Cup for a long time. So this is a great victory for the country and a great victory for this team and our federation,” said head coach Roy Rana.
“We had a quick celebration in the locker room, and now we’re moving on and getting ready for our next game because we didn’t come here to win just one game, cheer, and then go home,” added the Canadian tactician.
Ranked 55th, Egypt was leading by just four points when Amr El Gandy, Karim Elgizawy, Ehab Amin, and Assem Marei took over. Their performances resulted in a 30-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The momentum continued as Patrick Gardner and Amin connected for 13 straight points to open the second quarter, leading to a 27-point advantage midway through at 43-16.
Amin led the blowout for the Pharaohs with 22 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. Meanwhile, Gardner closely followed with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Assem Marei bounced back from a scoreless outing against Montenegro with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.
Amr Zahran contributed 14 points, while Anas Mahmoud rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
The Egyptians shot lights out from the field, converting 39 of their 64 attempts, which translates to an impressive 61-percent success rate.
On the Mexican side, Joshua Ibarra and Pako Cruz led the scoring with 21 points each, taking charge for the 31st-ranked team. Despite the defeat, Paul Stoll had an outstanding game with 11 points, 14 assists, and four steals.
With a 1-2 record, Egypt secured the third position in Group D as they head into the classification phase. Meanwhile, the 12 Guerreros concluded the first round without a single victory.
The Scores:
Egypt 100 – Amin 22, Gardner 20, Marei 16, Zahran 14, Mahmoud 10, El Gendy 6, Elgizawy 6, Hussein 3, Moussa 3, Abdelgawad 0, Aboushousha 0.
Mexico 72 – Cruz 21, Ibarra 21, Jaimes 11, Stoll 11, Bonilla 7, Andriassi 1, Giron 0, J Gutierrez 0, I. Gutierrez 0, Mendez 0.
Quarterscores: 30-16, 59-35, 77-56, 100-72.
