Time for jump ball at the Under 23 3×3 Basketball Tournament which is one of the newly introduced sports in the program of the 3rd Mediterranean Beach Games.

The action curtain opposite the Koules fortress, in the emblematic Venetian port of Heraklion, will open at 19:00, with the match between the teams of Kosovo and North Macedonia, in the framework of the A’ group of men.

The Day 1 agenda includes nine matches, seven in the men’s tournament and two in the women’s tournament.

So far, the participation of the Egyptian teams, who have not yet arrived in Heraklion, is pending due to bureaucratic problems and therefore the schedule will probably be readjusted.

African champions Egypt are the top power among the teams participating in the Games, as they are ranked highest in the FIBA world rankings in the U23 category, both for men and women.

Among the men, Egypt is at No. 13, while they follow by Slovenia (No. 14), Greece (No. 19), Croatia (No. 28), Tunisia (No. 30), Algeria (No. 35), Kosovo (No. 57) and North Macedonia (No. 91).

Among the women, Egypt is ranked No. 10, ahead of Tunisia (No. 24), Greece (No. 25), Slovenia (No. 26), Kosovo (No. 49) and Croatia (No. 50).

In the U23 World Cup, which was held in 2022 in Bucharest, the gold medal in the men’s tournament was won by Poland, which defeated Serbia 21-20 in the final, while France took third place, winning against Lithuania 21-17 .

Among the women, France climbed to the first step of the podium, after they beat USA 21-18, while the bronze medal was won by the Netherlands with its victory over China 21-18.

For two men’s teams (Egypt, Tunisia) and three women’s (Egypt, Tunisia, Greece), the 3rd Mediterranean Beach Games Tournament is also the dress rehearsal for their participation in the 5th U23 World Cup, which will be held from 27 September to October 1 in Lublin, Poland.