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Egypt coach after win over Mexico: 'A statement about African basketball'

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Egypt’s Ehab Amin against Mexico’s Jorge Gutierrez at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on August 29, 2023. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/08/29/20230829-fiba-mexico-egypt-md-3453.jpg"/><figcaption>Egypt’s Ehab Amin against Mexico’s Jorge Gutierrez at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on August 29, 2023. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Egyptian men&#x27;s national team head coach Roy Rana isn&#x27;t settling for just one victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.</p><p>After the Pharaohs scored a breakthrough win over Mexico, Rana is eager for his squad to win more in the global stage and put African hoops on the map in the process.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/23/fiba-egypt-pounces-on-mexico-for-first-world-cup-win">FIBA: Egypt pounces on Mexico for first World Cup win</a></li></ul><p>&quot;We had a quick celebration in the locker room and now we move on and get ready for our next game because we didn’t come here to win one game and cheer and go home,&quot; Rana said on Tuesday.</p><p>The 55th-ranked AfroBasket side stunned the 12 Guerreros, a team 24 places higher than them, 100-72, to achieve its first World Cup win since 1994.</p><p>&quot;From what I understand, there hasn’t been a lot of wins for Egypt in the World Cup for a long time. Great victory for Egypt, for the country, for this team, for the federation,&quot; Rana said.</p><p>Rana signed to become Egypt&#x27;s lead mentor back in January 2022, following the country&#x27;s disappointing 11th place finish in the 2021 AfroBasket championship.</p><p>Since then, the country had an 8-4 record in the African Qualifiers to book its ticket to the World Cup.</p><p>&quot;The team has been getting better, every game in the tournament. That’s encouraging,&quot; Rana said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/23/fiba-germany-routs-finland-for-group-e-sweep">FIBA: Germany routs Finland for Group E sweep</a></li></ul><p>Making Egypt&#x27;s journey more impressive is its roster made of first-timers, including five players below 24 years old.</p><p>&quot;We have some young players that are doing some really great things in their first World Cup. The future of Egyptian basketball is bright, but we can’t settle, we have to keep working,&quot; Rana shared.</p><p>Egypt&#x27;s win over Mexico also enabled all African nations competing in the tournament to register a victory in the group phase -- something Rana said the continent can be proud of.</p><p>&quot;When we see what’s happening for all five African teams to get a win at the World Cup is, I think, a statement about African basketball,&quot; he remarked.</p><p>&quot;It’s just getting better and better. I don’t think people realize how difficult it was for us to even qualify here, so on one hand, there’s a lot of pride that the continent continues to rise as a basketball region, as a continent.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/23/us-gather-pace-at-fiba-world-cup-on-day-of-historic-wins">US gather pace at FIBA World Cup on day of historic wins</a></li></ul><p>Angola, of course, shocked Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday, 80-70; South Sudan dominated China, 89-69, Cote d&#x27;Ivoire edged Iran, 71-69, while Cape Verde, the smallest nation in the tournament, stunned Venezuela, 81-75.</p><p>The situation makes the tight race for Africa&#x27;s lone spot to the Paris Olympics 2024 even more interesting, but Rana does not mind putting aside the competition to celebrate the milestones that make African basketball look beaming with potential.</p><p>&quot;We’ll always have it kind of like the side of our eye a little bit looking at what everybody else is doing and some of it is about the Olympics but some of it is also just for African pride,&quot; Rana continued.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/23/haliburton-sees-no-problem-in-coming-off-the-bench-for-team-usa">FIBA: Tyrese Haliburton sees no problem in coming off the bench for Team USA</a></li></ul><p>&quot;And then of course, but we can’t control what happens, really. You look at it on the side of your eye, you keep an eye on what’s going on, then we just focus on our next opponent.&quot;</p><p>Egypt will face fellow Arab nation Jordan and the loser between Greece and New Zealand in the classification phase, looking to do well not only for themselves but for Africa as a whole.</p><div><b>For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/fibaworldcup2023" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bv7XhJIG-m8?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Egyptian men's national team head coach Roy Rana isn't settling for just one victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.