MADRID, 17 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Lithuania, the Dominican Republic and an Asian team will be the rivals of the Spanish team in the Under-17 Basketball World Championship, which will be played in the province of Malaga from July 2 to 10, after the draw held this Thursday in the Auditorium Picasso Museum in Malaga.
Spain has been framed in group B, which will play the first phase in Alhaurín de la Torre, along with Lithuania, the Dominican Republic and the second classified in the Asian championship that will be played in June.
Present at the draw were the president of the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB), Jorge Garbajosa; the General Director of FIBA Media & Marketing Services, Frank Leenders; the Secretary General for Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, José María Arrabal; the Councilor for Sports of the Malaga City Council, Noelia Losada; and the Deputy for Sports of the Diputación de Málaga, Cristóbal Ortega.
In addition, there were also the former internationals and absolute world champions in 2006 Carlos Jiménez, current Team Manager of the men’s team, and Carlos Cabezas, and the former Greek international Nikos Zisis, world runner-up in 2006, who drew the balls from the draw.
“It is a very important day, because this World Cup will produce the next figures in world basketball. And in a few years, they will be proud to have participated in this tournament in Andalusia,” said the president of the FEB, Jorge Garbajosa.
For his part, Cristóbal Ortega, Sports Deputy of the Malaga Provincial Council, stated that: “It is very important to have these events in the province, because we give these boys and girls the visibility of a high-level tournament and the incentive to promote sport in the little ones”.
The Councilor for Sports of Malaga, Noelia Losada, assured that the U-17 World Cup is “an oxygen ball”. “Because the values of basketball and sports in general are more necessary than ever. And especially with young people under 17 as protagonists. It was an opportunity that we could not miss,” she said.
Along the same lines, José María Arrabal, General Secretary for Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, has stressed “that this trip means a lot for Andalusia, recognized as a world sports region”. “There have been more than 100 events that have served us to send the message that we are part of the progress of our country,” he said.
MARBELLA, HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED STATES
Spain will play the three matches of the first phase against Lithuania, the Dominican Republic and the second-placed team in Asia and the round of 16 match at the El Limón pavilion in Alhaurín de la Torre. A town that will also host the matches of Group A or B, where the rival of the Spanish team in the round of 16 will come from.
For its part, the United States, winner of the first five editions of the U-17 World Cup, and the rest of the teams in Groups C and D will play their matches from the initial phase and the round of 16 at the Elena Benítez in San Pedro de Alcántara Marbella .
The Martín Carpena in Málaga will host the entire final phase from the quarterfinal round. The qualifying matches for ninth to sixteenth place will be played in Alhaurín de la Torre. The participants from the Asia and Oceania zone who will complete each of the four groups will be announced in June when the Asian Under-16 Championship is played.