CAIRO (Egypt) - Teenage sensation Mohab Abdalatif netted an impressive 42 points to inspire hosts Egypt to a 68-60 victory in their opening game at the FIBA U18 African Championship on Thursday. 

Abdalatif stood tall in a game that needed a leader right from the start and his energy on court fed right into his teammates who sought emotional support from him against a stubborn Guinean side. 

The West Africans led the first quarter 19-12 and held on to a one-point lead at the half time break 34-33 but the game was far from over as the hosts with a handful of fans in sight, intensified their full court defense to double trap the Guinean guards. 

Abdalatif scored 66% of his team's points

In a game that had 10 lead changes, the tension was immense on every possession and when Egypt established a 53-50 at the end of the third quarter, their confidence grew while the Guineans found themselves in foul trouble. 

N'Famara Dabo, who picked 10 rebounds and was one point away from a double double, fouled out to further hurt Guinea's chances in the game and the hosts ran away with the game in the last two minutes of the last quarter. 

"It was a tough game against Guinea but I am very happy that we won it eventually. My teammates trust me with the ball and I am glad that we played and won together as a team. I am so glad to be here representing Egypt," Abdalatif told FIBA.basketball. 

The 18-year old, who has been at the prestigious NBA Academy in Dakar, Senegal since July 2019, revealed that it is fulfilling to make his national team debut at home.

Mara put up a show against Egypt

Meanwhile, Guinea captain Mambourou Mara registered a double double with 28 points and 14 rebounds while his teammate Kabinet Kara added 16 rebounds and nine points but their efforts were not enough to help their side to victory. 

"I am very proud of my players and how much they fought in this game. This is the first time that we are competing at this level so for them to play like this against a big team like Egypt is fulfilling and we are also learning a lot," said the Guinea head coach Zeljko Zecevic after the game. 

The four participating teams including hosts Egypt, Guinea, Mali and Senegal in this tournament will play a round-robin system with the first placed team facing the fourth and the second taking on the third in the semifinals. The winners will meet in the final and qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup 2021. 

FIBA