Assem Marei talked with Basketball Sphere about the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2023 where he will play for Egypt.
Egypt qualified for the Mundobasket through the African qualifiers, where they finished in second place in their group F. Behind them were national teams like Senegal and Tunisia.
With an average of 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game during the qualifiers, Assem Marei was one of the most responsible for the fact that his national team found itself at the World Cup this summer.
During the conversation with Basketball Sphere, Marei spoke about the atmosphere within the Egyptian team, the opponents they will face in the group stage, and the goals for this tournament.
A great atmosphere within the national team is always one of the main prerequisites for a good result.
“The atmosphere in our national team is incredible. It is always an honor to represent your country at such a big competition. As far as ambitions are concerned, our goal is to show ourselves at our best, both on and off the court. We will fight for the name of our country.” – Assem Marei begins the conversation with Basketball Sphere.
Egypt will play in Group D, where they will have Montenegro, Lithuania and Mexico as opponents. Objectively, the European teams are the favorites to qualify for the next stage, but that certainly does not mean that the others will show a white flag.
“We are a young team and we go one game at a time. We know who our opponents are, we respect each of the mentioned national teams, but we will do our best. From this point of view, the only realistic scenario is that we chase second position. We will fight to the end, and there are no guarantees for the final result.“
Looking from the side, the impression is that many teams can hope for a gold medal at this year’s Mundobasket. Almost all the main favorites are weakened by not having some of the best players. The United States is coming to the tournament with its “C” team, Serbia will be without Vasilije Micic and Nikola Jokic, Spain without Ricky Rubio, and Greece without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Nevertheless, Assem Marei ranked some of the mentioned national teams among the main favorites:
“As a rule, the United States is always the favorite to win the FIBA World Cup, but I think that this time Serbia and Greece have a good chance to do something big.”
The former Minnesota State student is one of the most experienced and best players in Egypt, and he is expected to be one of the leaders at the upcoming championship.
In addition, it is important to note the international experience that Assem Marei gained playing for Pinar Karsiyaka, Brose Bamberg, Metropolitans, Galatasaray… In 2019, he was the MVP of Turkish Super League regular season.
Five national teams from Africa will participate in the Mundobasket and all of them will primarily compete to be the best in this battle among themselves. The reason is that the best-placed team from that continent will ensure direct spot to the Olympic Games next year.
“Each group is difficult at the World Cup, but we have the goal of being the best placed country from Africa. I would also have to point out South Sudan as an extremely strong team that comes from our continent.”
Considering that he mentioned Svetislav Pesic’s team as candidates for the best result, we have asked Marei how he sees basketball in Serbia.
“Basketball is simply in the blood of Serbs, they fight to the end in every game. Serbia has one of the oldest and best basketball schools. They are truly adorned with a rich history and pride.“
Egypt will play their first game at the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2023 against Lithuania. Two days later they will have a clash against Montenegro. In the last round of the first stage, their opponent is going to be Mexico.