FIBA U17W - Historic step for trio of debutantes

KLATOVY/PILSEN (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - Day 1 is in the books at the third edition of the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women and there was elation for a trio of newcomers who all clinched historic wins on their debut in the competition.

Group A in Klatovy proved the one to watch as Hungary came out on top in an emotional 76-73 overtime roller-coaster against Canada. A 20-point effort from Bridget Carleton wasn't enough to deny the Hungarians, who found Virag Kiss in top form after accumulating a memorable 17 points and 11 boards.

In the same pool, the hosts Czech Republic pulled out an absorbing and historic 61-51 success against Korea in front of a partisan home crowd. Julia Reisingerova showed why all the pre-tournament talk has been about her after a headline harvest of 21 points and 14 rebounds for Czech Republic. The loss was tough on Ji Su Park, who had 22 points and nine rebounds in a fantastic duel with her counterpart under the basket.

Meanwhile, Slovak Republic recorded a landmark win in Group C after throwing a defensive blanket over another new face in Mexico to secure a 54-36 victory.  The Slovaks were rampant on the glass as Lucia Streisova claimed 10 rebounds in a positive opening day in Pilsen for the newbies.

In the same group, Australia and Japan played out an entertaining clash with the Sapphires taking a 54-46 success as Japan struggled to hit the number of three-pointers they needed, when placing so much reliance on their outside game. Georgia Pineau made her case for performance of the day at the tournament with a tremendous double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds for Australia.

Spain showed why they are runaway favourites to finish top of the pile in Group B after a blistering start paved the way for a ruthless 71-39 victory against Italy, who were weakened by the loss of the injured Francesca Pan who has been ruled out of the event. As expected, Angela Salvadores added to her burgeoning reputation by combing with Maite Cazorla for 32 points. Giulia Ciavarella was the only Italian player to make it to double-figures in scoring with a 12 point haul.

Despite the best efforts of Raneem Mohamed who led her team with an all-action 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, Egypt slid to an 87-47 defeat against Brazil in their first-ever outing. Larissa Carneiro scored a game-high 16 points for the winning team, while Fabiola Alexandrino did great work with a fantastic five steals, five boards and four assists.

Defending champions USA tipped off the defence of their title in Pilsen, but arguably made harder work of despatching China than the 69-41 scoreline might suggest. China slowed down the holders during the first-half, but Katie-Lou Samuelson found her touch from the perimeter with four triples en-route to 22 points.

Also in Group D, France waltzed past Mali, 66-45, thanks mainly to a terrific six of seven shooting effort from Elise Cammas which garnered 18 points, while Adama Coulibaly responded with 13 points in defeat.

FIBA