Egypt basketball teams head to Italy for Mediterranean Games campaign

The Egyptian basketball delegation has travelled from Cairo to Italy to take part in the Mediterranean Games, with the 3×3 men’s and women’s under-23 teams set to compete in Taranto from 29 August to 1 September.

The wider Mediterranean Games are being held in Taranto and will continue until 3 September, attracting 3,803 athletes from 26 countries.

Egypt has won 15 medals so far at the Games, keeping the country among the leading nations in the overall standings and at the top of the Arab medal table. Its total consists of five gold medals, four silver medals and six bronze medals.

The coaching staff of Egypt’s men’s and women’s under-23 3×3 basketball teams have confirmed their final squads for the competition.

The men’s team consists of Yassin Yasser Abdelwahab, Ahmed Abdel Latif, Ziad Aboul Enein and Ibrahim Moharam. They will be coached by Mohamed Samir.

Hany Hassan, head coach of the women’s team, has selected Tamara Nader El-Sayed, Malak Sami, Farida Massad and Jana El-Shamy.

The organisers have scheduled the group-stage matches for 29 and 30 August. The knockout rounds will then take place on 31 August and 1 September.

Basketball has a long record of success for Egypt at the Mediterranean Games. The men’s team won the gold medal at the inaugural edition in 1951, which was hosted by Alexandria.

Egypt have also claimed two bronze medals in the competition, including one won under the United Arab Republic. The 3×3 format was added to the Mediterranean Games programme at the 2018 edition in Tarragona, Spain.

Egypt’s delegation will compete in 23 sports during the Games. Those events are archery, athletics, badminton, 3×3 basketball, boxing, canoeing and kayaking, equestrian, fencing, swimming, gymnastics, handball, judo, karate, padel, rowing, sailing, shooting, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, finswimming and amateur sliding.

The country currently sits sixth in the all-time Mediterranean Games medal table. Egypt has won 620 medals across the history of the event, including 156 golds, 209 silvers and 255 bronzes.

The basketball teams’ participation in Taranto forms part of a broader Egyptian campaign involving competitors across the full range of sports. The 3×3 tournament will begin with the opening round before moving into the elimination stages, with the final medals to be decided at the start of September.