Egypt spice up veteran squad with U19 star Elgizawy, Marist's Gardner

CAIRO (Egypt) - Egypt have announced a veteran-laden 20-man squad ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup as they prepare for their Group Phase games in Manila against Lithuania, Mexico, and Montenegro.

Three of the players featured in all 12 games of the African Qualifiers. They are captain Amr Elgendy, Youssef Aboushousha, and Yusef Shehata. Another, explosive guard Ehab Amin, appeared in 11.

Amin led the team that is now coached by Canadian Roy Rana with an average of 14.5 points per game.

If he is one of the most captivating players in the Egyptian team, two big men - Assem Marei and Anas Mahmoud - should be just as influential.

10 years ago, Marei burst onto the international scene at FIBA AfroBasket 2013 when he led Egypt to the Final and was named to the All-Star Five. He played in eight of the African Qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup.

Anas is a tremendous leaper who played in 10  of the African Qualifiers and averaged 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

Rana, who led Canada to a FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup title, has been hailed for his work with youngsters, has a promising player in the squad in Karim Elgizawy.

The 1.91M (6'3") point guard averaged 7.6 points and a team-high 4.6 assists at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Hungary this summer.

Egypt have also included Patrick Gardner, who hails from Merrick, New York, in the preliminary squad. Gardner, who has Egyptian roots from his mother's side of the family, is coming off an eye-opening season in American college basketball.

The big man averaged 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds - both team highs - at Marist College, the school where Dutch legend Rik Smits played before embarking on a legendary career with the Indiana Pacers. Gardner himself recently signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the Brooklyn Nets - the team of Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, both of whom will be playing for USA in Manila.

FIBA