TRENTINO (Italy) - FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2026 means something special for Cheickh Niang. Not only is he making his debut for Italy, but he's doing so in the city where he plays his club basketball - and a place he shared his dream with his inspirational brother.
Niang has helped guide the hosts Italy into the Quarter-Finals by averaging 13.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals, including 19 points in the Round of 16 win over Lithuania.
"Saliou is my main inspiration. He'll forever be my idol."
By reaching the Quarters - and a date with Türkiye - the Italians are just one victory from booking a ticket to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027.
That is a stage the Italians have not played on since 2017.
"It's been amazing, and we hope we'll be able to make this chance come true and qualify for the U19 World Cup," said Niang.
Italy have struggled at this stage over the past decade, winning just one of their three Quarter-Finals games dating back to 2017.
"We're a completely different team when we play together, and we proved it (against Lithuania). We were focused and locked in on defense for 40 minutes, making the ball move a lot. We're aware that's the key to be the best version of ourselves," Niang said.
But Italy actually did win in the Quarter-Finals last summer en route to a third place finish - the country's first podium in the competition since taking third in 2016.
"Knowing that Italy last year was on the podium motivates us a lot. We’ll try to follow their footsteps - or do even better. Let's see," said Niang.
This is the first time Niang is wearing the Italia jersey in a FIBA competition. As if that is not meaningful enough, the guard is competing in front of his home crowd as he plays for Italian top flight side Aquila Basket Trento.
"When I found out that the U18 EuroBasket will be in Trento, I was so excited," said Niang, who averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11 minutes per game over 31 contests for the Trento club in 2025-26.
"It's my first event with the national team and knowing I had the fans on my side was very special. They are crucial and we definitely feel them. We expect even more fans in the next games,”
Six of those games came against Virtus Bologna - five of them in the first round of the Italian league playoffs. And they had the added dynamic of Niang vs Niang.
Cheickh's older brother Saliou Niang had a stellar 2024-25 season with Trento and was then selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, after which he first played at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025. He then moved from Trento to EuroLeague side Virtus.
"Saliou is my main inspiration. I always try to match his physicality and copy his skills in defense. He'll forever be my idol, and I'll always take my brother as a role model," Cheickh said.
Saliou ended up getting the advantage on those Niang vs Niang matchups. There was the November 1 Round 5 matchup in Trento, where Saliou came back to his former home and led Virtus to a 102-83 win.
The teams then met up in the opening round of the playoffs as Virtus topped the league after the regular season and Trento was eighth. Virtus opened the series with a home win but then Trento stole home court advantage with two wins.
Cheickh had 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in the first three games while Saliou was his usual self. And big brother made sure Cheickh didn't get bragging rights with big performances in Games 4 and 5 while the younger sibling went scoreless twice and both times struggled with foul trouble and Virtus advanced 3-2.
Despite losing four of the six games, Cheickh loved going against his older brother.
"It was a dream come true. When we were kids, we used to speak about it at night in the bed and playing against him was an indescribable emotion," he admitted.
Saliou unfortunately could not be on hand for the U18 EuroBasket.
"He just wished me good luck," said Cheickh about his brother's message to him about the tournament.
Niang and Italy are so close to their minimum goal and Cheickh is helping lead thanks to everything he learned from his inspirational brother.
FIBA