South Sudan men’s basketball national team, the Bright Stars, have made history by qualifying for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. They became the first African nation to qualify for the tournament at their first attempt.
🔥 HISTORY MADE 🔥
South Sudan are going to their first FIBA Basketball World Cup 🏆#FIBAWC x #WinForSouthSudan 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/1T2qvgSTvn
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) February 24, 2023
South Sudan defeated Senegal 83-75 in their qualifier in Alexandria, Egypt, to secure a spot at the tournament, which will be co-hosted by Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines from August 25 to September 10.
The youngest country in the world, with a population of just over 12 million people and gaining its independence in 2011, had only competed in its first international tournament three years ago.
They came into the Friday encounter at Al Ittihad Stadium with an 8-1 record, fully aware that a win in any of their remaining three games guarantees them a spot at the World Cup.
The Senegalese gave the South Sudanese side a tough battle, with the latter only leading by one point at the end of the first half. Although Senegal edged the third quarter 19-14 to open a four-point lead, the Bright Stars rallied for a 24-12 win in the final quarter to eventually overcome their counterpart with an eight-point lead.
The Bright Stars were led by Nuni Omot’s team-high 26 points to finish as one of the top two teams in Group F.
South Sudan, under the tutelage of former Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat star Lou Deng, who is both the interim coach and federation president, became the ninth African nation to reach the World Cup, joining Algeria, the Central African Republic, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, and Angola, who lead the way with eight appearances.
The victory over the Lions took the Bright Stars’ record to nine wins out of 10 matches in the qualifying rounds.
🎟️ Ticket punched to @FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/OzISWUnuAn
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) February 24, 2023
The North African nation joins Ivory Coast, who were stunned by Nigeria’s D’Tigers on Friday, as the two African nations to book a spot at this year’s tournament, with three more open slots available from the five berth awarded to the continent by FIBA.
