History was made on Saturday as South Sudan’s men basketball team qualified for this year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup after beating Senegal 83-75 in a qualifying match played in qualifier in Alexandria, Egypt.
With the feat, the Bright Stars also became the first African nation to qualify at their first attempt for the tournament which will be co-hosted by Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, from 25 August to 10 September.
Africa has been allocated a total of five berths with Ivory Coast also already qualified, which now leaves three more slots to complete the slots.
South Sudan’s impressive outing in the qualifiers is seen as a big success for a country that gained independence only in 2011 and only competed in its first international tournament three years ago.
The country which is coached by NBA legend, Luol Deng, becomes just the ninth African nation to reach the FIBA World Cup, joining the likes of Nigeria, Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Central African Republic.
Speaking on the achievement, Deng said:
“We come from a country that has been through a lot. Some of these kids, what they went through is something that you cannot control and, as life goes on, a lot of people never get an opportunity to come back home, let alone to wear a jersey and represent the nation.”
“For them, it is more than just a game, it is really emotional.”