ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - Guinea did not wait long to make history as they defeated China 101-92 to tip off their FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 campaign for the country's first ever victory in the competition in their first game.
The FIBA U16 AfroBasket 2023 champions - also a historic first - showed they are in Istanbul not just to make up the numbers by knocking off the Asian side. Arafan Diane led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds for Guinea and U16 AfroBasket Most Valuable Player Nour Gassim Toure flirted with a triple-double in collecting 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Guinea stressed how important the victory was for the country and the people back home.
"This victory means a lot for this country. This is the first time we are playing in the U17 World Cup. It was the first game and we won, so it means a lot. We have to play well and motivate the younger kids in Guinea to keep pushing and working hard," said Nour Gassim Toure.
Head coach Ibrahima Toure added: "It's huge what just happened. We told the kids before the game that everybody is going to tune in so we’re not just representing our team but the whole country. Now we have beaten China so we have to get even more support back in Guinea."
But the debutants are not satisfied with one victory.
"We made the first step and our goal is to win as many games as possible and reach the Final. This is just one step. We want to showcase what we can do but there is more coming." - Guinea head coach Ibrahima Toure
"We are not done yet. We are going game by game. We won this game and now we have to focus on the next game. We came here with bigger goals. The job is not finished," added his point guard.
Guinea went ahead to start the game and then watched China take the lead 15-14. However, they responded with a 16-3 run for a 30-18 cushion. China occasionally got the gap down to nine points over the course of the middle two quarters, but the Guinea showed poise uncommon for a team making their debut at the global event.
Guinea led by 19 points with under 6 minutes left and held off a China comeback attempt to make history with big baskets down the stretch.
FIBA