The Czech national team qualified for the under-19 World Cup thanks to sixth place at last year’s European Under-18 Championship. Five promotion spots were up for grabs in Greece, with Spain, as hosts of the World Cup with an automatic start, finishing second after losing to Lithuania in the final.
“For me, there is satisfaction, the group is very varied. Three different styles of basketball from three different continents. Exactly the confrontation and experience that I wanted for the players and they will not experience at the annual European Championship. From the point of view of the chances of a good result, the group seems playable, ” the union website quoted coach Viktor Pruša.
At the world championship, the basic group will once again play for a place in the round of 16, in which the teams from groups A and B, respectively C and D, will compete. The first opponent of the Czech team in the playoffs will come from group C, in which they will play Japan, Brazil, Lithuania and Italy.
Two years ago, at the World Championships in Debrecen, the then Czech juniors under the leadership of the current coach of the senior national team, Romana Ptáčková, took sixth place and recorded the best result since winning the title in 2001 in Brno. This year, the Czech team will appear at the Junior World Cup for the sixth time and will not miss the 16th edition in 2025 either, as it will have a guaranteed participation as the organizer.
