The women’s basketball team of the American University in Cairo made history by claiming the silver medal after reaching the final of the FISU University World Cup 3x3 Basketball in Doha, Qatar.
AUC qualified for the World Cup as champions of the 3x3 basketball championship which was held in June in South Africa. The AUC women lost 14-7 to ITES Monterrey of Mexico in the final of the four-day event that took place from 8 to 12 November. AUC made it to the semi-final by beating Lincoln University of New Zealand 16-13 and Qatar University in Doha 21-9 to lead the group stage.
In the semi-final, AUC beat the University of Pitesti of Romania 18-16 to book their berth in the final, while the eventual winner ITES Monterrey beat Precarpathian University of Ukraine 16-13 to meet the Egyptians in the final.
3x3 basketball is a variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one backboard and in a half-court setup.
The AUC team comprised Salma Ayman, Farida Hassan, Zeina Hossam and Nadine Omar.
The bronze medal went to Precarpathian who beat the University of Pitesti 17-10.
According to the event’s website, at the end of the competition the feeling was that the true finals had occurred earlier in the tournament. For example, in the quarter-finals when, in a remake of last year’s final, ITES Monterrey took their revenge (19-18) over the defending champion Chinese Culture University (TPE). That was an epic match which could have gone either way.
The eventual gold medal won by the Mexican squad was all the more remarkable since they lost their captain Deyna González who broke her foot during the game and had to finish the tournament with only three players.
But they remained in control against Precarpathian in the semi-finals (16-13) and had an easy ride (14-7) in the final against the Egyptian student-athletes from AUC who were the surprise guests at that stage, but who unfortunately couldn’t cope with the Mexican fiesta.  
The FISU University World Cup 3x3 Basketball, which had been staged in Xiamen, China, from 2015 to 2019 and in Istanbul last year, will now return to China in 2024.
The AUC Dean of Students and head of the delegation Yorgun Marcel sent a message of thanks to all those who had a hand in the famous achievement: Minister of Higher Education Ayman Ashour, Minister of Youth and Sports and President of the African Universities Federation Ashraf Sobhi, President of the Egyptian Universities Federation Sobhi Hassanein, AUC President Ahmed Dallal and AUC Sports Director Sherif Al-Erian.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly