U19 WWC Day 1: First night fiesta for Spain; Madrid enjoys 'Jocyte-ball'

MADRID (Spain) - Day 1 of the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023 saw hosts Spain post a flying start, Japan erupting from downtown and Lithuanian star Juste Jocyte putting the tournament on notice.

Here's your roundup of what happened at the flagship event after the curtain was raised in Madrid. 

Spain make statement with a red-hot start

Tournament hosts Spain were celebrating a big first day win and it wasn't just the 83-68 result itself, but the fact it came against another potential podium contender in the shape of Australia. A blistering 22-8 start set the home side on their way and after a mammoth 32 points in the second quarter, they had the cushion needed after the break for when the Gems inevitably launched a comeback bid.

Elena Buenavida led Spain to the victory with 15 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Jocyte shows her class on global debut

Justye Jocyte wasted no time in showing why she was #2 in the pre-tournament player rankings after she lit it up for Lithuania in a 71-45 Group C triumph against Brazil. Last year's FIBA U18 Women's European Championship MVP racked up 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, as well as grabbing 2 steals. She signed a +/- of +35 in less than 26 minutes.

Most scarily, she looked like she still had a couple more gears to find before getting near to her brilliant best. This can be interpreted as the Lithuanian leader putting the tournament on notice that 'Jocyteball' just landed.

A three-point frenzy from Japan

Japan got within touching distance of breaking their own downtown record as they made a lightning start to the competition in the Spanish capital. There may be a scorching heatwave right now, but Japan made it rain with a breathtaking 16 triples as they shot down Italy 92-71. Four of them were sunk by Misaki Sasaka who had a team-high 18 points.

The big double 'double-double'

There was a pair of big 'double-doubles' to enjoy as Frieda Buhner of Germany and Yu-Wen Hsiao of Chinese Taipei both showed out in the same game. Germany won a hard-fought contest 67-59 with Buhner claiming 18 points and 17 boards, while Hsiao had 16 points and 17 rebounds in defeat and underlining why she was on the 20-11 player power rankings list ahead of the tournament. 

All eyes on USA's first outing

Reigning champions USA are the first team to watch on anybody's list and especially on Day 1 of a tournament. They completed an 85-66 victory against Mali. With Maimouna Haidara impressive for the Africans with 17 points and 16 rebounds, it was more of a team effort from USA. Cotie McMahaon caught the eye with 15 points, while Breya Cunningham had 12 rebounds and 2 huge blocks.

Who did it best?

 

Photo of the Day

Lithuania just LOVED taking their first #FIBAU19 win in exactly a decade, having last won (with a 1-7 final record) back in 2013 when they were hosts of the competition.

Highlight of the Day

Toby Fournier had herself a block party for Canada as she swatted four shots in their success against China 83-62.

Other Results

- Dominika Paurova came into the competition with a big reputation and showed why as she excelled for Czech Republic. She paced a 103-71 win against Egypt by dropping a classy 19 points, 4 boards and 3 assists. Meanwhile Jana Elalfy scored a Day 1 high 29 points for Egypt.

- Finally, Daniela Dibanzilua pulled out the best display of the day with a performance efficiency valuation of 32 as France proved far too hot to handle for Argentina. They stormed their way past their opponents to take a one-sided 96-42 victory off the back of her 21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals.

 

FIBA