ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - Years of hard work to get Côte d'Ivoire on the youth map paid off on the opening day of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 as the country won their first ever game in the competition and gave pride to their nation and the entire African continent.
The Elephants started the tournament with a hard-fought 74-63 win over Venezuela in Group D. Jean-Philippe Oka collected 18 points, 2 assists and 4 steals to lead the way in Istanbul.
"First World Cup game, first win, we can only be happy with the work we've done with these kids in the last two years. It's a great relief, a great pride for all Africa," said Moussa Diarra, the president of the Ivorian basketball federation.
"For the country, it's a huge step forward. We are developing basketball. We've worked with those kids since they are 14, and now we can see the work that has been done. We want to get those kids to the senior level. We are FIBA U16 AfroBasket champions and winning this first game is a great pride."
Head coach Eric Anderson Affi was thrilled with his team's performance.
With this win, we're making history and I'm proud to be a part of it with our kids
"With this win, we're making history and I'm proud to be a part of it with our kids. The kids played really well. the whole country is very proud," said Affi, who was the head coach last summer when Côte d'Ivoire won FIBA U16 AfroBasket 2025 to earn their ticket to Istanbul.
"We need to have the same state of mind each game, and try to win more. That's our mission."
Oka was the Most Valuable Player last summer when Côte d'Ivoire won the title and he was excited about the result.
"That was a great game. We beat Venezuela. They played really good, but we won. That is the first win ever for my country so I am very happy. It means a lot because we are here to represent Africa. So this is amazing for me," Oka said.
"It's a good experience because we worked very hard for this. This past month we've been working, practicing, preparing for this, watching film, everything. It's just all our hard work coming together," added Omar Mangassouba, who played at the
U16 AfroBasket last summer. "It's going to build our confidence for the group stage and hopefully we can make more history."
Carlo Vieira, the general manager of the Côte d'Ivoire national team program, has been working for this moment for a long time and he is excited to see the fruits of his group's labor.
"It means a lot. First victory in first game. The work started two or three years ago and now we can see the results. It's amazing. We sent a message to all the young Ivorians around the world and in Côte d'Ivoire that they can believe in their dreams. These kids are incredible. They work a lot and have dreamed for a month and a half. But we are not finished," Vieira said.
Côte d'Ivoire hope this is just the start of something big for the country.
The federation president had a strong message to the youngsters back home: "The message is that African Kids can have hope. They can succeed in basketball. Every Ivorian kid, in Côte d'Ivoire or anywhere in the world, we want to work and make them grow. We can do it."
Another sign of Côte d'Ivoire's commitment to grow the youth program is they will be hosting the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2026 in August and have expectations of winning it and reaching the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027.
Côte d'Ivoire still have two games in the Group Phase, facing Australia on Sunday June 28 and then Serbia on Tuesday June 30. And the Africans will be looking for more history.
FIBA