Arizona’s Sumayah Sugapong, Mireia Jurado to represent their countries in FIBA tournaments

Mireia Jurado and Sumayah Sugapong may not have suited up for the Arizona Wildcats yet, but both will get high-level experience this summer in international competitions. Jurado will represent Spain in the FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket while Sugapong heads to China to represent the Philippines in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.

Jurado will be a freshman on Becky Burke’s first Arizona squad. She has been a staple on the Spanish youth circuit for a few years. FIBA notes her nationality as Kazakh and Spanish, but she has already played for Spain at the U16 and U17 levels. This year, she will represent the side in front of her country’s fans in La Palma, Spain.

Jurado played seven games for Spain in the 2024 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. She averaged 5.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in that tournament. The year before, she played in the U16 Women’s European Championships. She also appeared in seven games, averaging 6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 2.0 apg.

Spain, which is ranked second in the world in the girls division, starts group play against Türkiye, Poland, and the Czech Republic in Group D on July 5. Jurado and her teammates will play Türkiye at 11:30 a.m. MST on Saturday. They follow with the Czech Republic at the same time on Sunday and Poland the following day at 11:30 a.m. MST.

Sugapong transferred to Arizona after spending her first two years at UC San Diego. She last appeared for the Philippines in 2022. She played five games in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship 2022 Division B tournament. It was her only time playing in her national program, but she had an outstanding showing that summer. She averaged 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in her five appearances. This will be her first time on the senior national team.

Sugapong and the Philippines won’t have an easy go of things in the group stage. They start by facing Australia in Group B. Australia has scored over 100 points against the Philippines in each of the last four match-ups between the two sides. Last time they played, the Opals defeated the Philippines 105-34 in the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Division A.

Group B also includes Lebanon and Japan. Former Arizona standout Trinity Baptiste has represented Lebanon for the past few years, although the Lebanese roster has not been released yet.

Group A includes the host team from China, which will battle the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, and New Zealand in group play.

The Philippines is ranked 44th in the FIBA women’s rankings. The top team in the tournament is Australia, which is ranked second in the FIBA women’s rankings.

Asia Cup games will be streamed on Courtside 1891, which requires a subscription.