Adam El Halawany reflects on the impact of his U16 MVP award

 

ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) – Two years ago, Egypt bagged their fifth FIBA U16 African Championship title by edging arch-rivals Mali 63-62 in the Final.

Later on, as Adam El-Halawany’s name was called out for the MVP title, an incredulous young man stepped up and took the prize.

Time has passed and he is still working on his basketball dream. He turned 18 this year.

FIBA.basketball had a chat with him. 

Back in 2021, the MVP title came as a surprise to El Halawany. He averaged 10.3 points and 3.6 assists per game, and scored only 8 points in the Final against Mali. Not enough for him to take home the most coveted individual trophy, or so he thought.

"I didn't play a lot in that game. I scored only eight points and I wasn't really focused on winning any individual title," he said.

"My attention was directed to the final win. I was getting ready to be cheering on any other Egyptian player who would have won the title. But when I heard my name, I was happy as it was the sum of two years of hard work," he recalled.

El Halawany scored 8 points in the final against Mali

He vividly remembers the build-up to the final moment of the game. With only a handful of seconds to go, Egypt were behind 62-61. It was then that the magic happened. "I got the ball from out of bounds, and the coach told me to go. We scored and the whole court went crazy," he reflected.

He continued: "I got subbed out and while I sat there, I was screaming "Defense! Defense!" Mali missed the shot that could have crowned them, and next thing I remember, all the Egyptian bench were crying from happiness."

Egypt celebrate an epic win over rivals Mali

Since his MVP title, his life has changed significantly. "You know, I wasn't gunning for MVP. But I must say that it has helped me a lot in my basketball career."

Being called to Smouha SC's first team has given the young man a completely new perspective on the game. "It changed my candor, my tempo in the game. But above all, my mindset changed. I learnt that the small details make the biggest difference."

With that one African title in his bag, he dreams of conquering many more with the national team. And he draws his inspiration from one of Egypt’s poster boys, Al Ahly's Ehab Amin.

When asked why Amin, he replies that the Egyptian guard is just the kind of player every team dream of having. "He's the king of the court. He sees everything, he knows how to get the ball to someone, he knows how to score. And he knows how to make decisions in the critical times, and this is something I like a lot."

With such inspiration, he still has some time to think about the next steps in his basketball career with the national team. The first one of them is making it to the U19 squad that will travel to Debrecen, in Hungary for the FIBA U19 Basketball Word Cup, where Egypt hope to make history.

Throughout their history at the FIBA U19 World Cup, Egypt never made it above the 10th place. But this year could be Egypt's year. This is what El Halawany believes. "We could aim for a Top 8 finish. And we know we can make it happen. We have four overseas players, and we have a lot of other very talented players. So, yes, in my opinion, we can definitely make it," he adds.

Speaking of World Cups, he also keenly follows the men's national team that has qualified for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup in Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

He is adamant that the Pharaohs can achieve something. "You know, the team is competing at a very high level. They have the skills, the talent and the coaching that goes with it."

At the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2022, El Halawany averaged 8.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game

He even dreams of making it to the men's squad one day. "I remember when I first joined the U16 national squad, I was like "Wow! I made it." I felt special because they only picked 12 players out of thousands. And I really hope to make it to the men's national team at a later stage."

The young player also watched intently the rise of nations such as Madagascar, Chad, who finished just off the podium at the 2021 U16 Championship, and Gabon, among others. He remembers Madagascar finishing as runner-up to Egypt at the 2022 FIBA U18 African Championship.

This phenomenon will only bring a positive note to African basketball, he believes. "I really don't mind it, because it means that basketball will become more competitive. Hopefully, more teams can level up and give us a good run. As a competitor, I don't like easy games."

Finally comes the question of when he will quit playing basketball. Though it is not on the day’s agenda, he has given it a thought. "I think I will stop when I can no longer perform at 100 percent. But even then, I'll make sure to be around a court as I plan to become a coach at some point," he concludes.

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