‘More than basketball’: South Sudan makes history at the win FIBA World cup

South Sudan have made history by winning their first FIBA World Cup game and by qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

South Sudan performed admirably at the FIBA World Cup in 2023, but its basketball aspirations don’t end there.

The world’s youngest country earned their first Olympic basketball slot on Saturday in the Philippine capital of Manila after defeating Angola 101-78 to claim the only FIBA Africa direct qualification spot for Paris 2024.

 At a press conference after his team, the Bright Stars, defeated the Philippines in the classification round, Royal Ivey declared, “We earned it.

 “We competed from zone five [in the Afrobasket qualifiers] to now, my guys are resilient, they know how to work, they push forward, they fought day-in, day-out, and we got here because of the hard work and the sweat that we put in every day. Now we’re reaping the rewards, so it’s not over.”

The country of around 11 million people, which was participating in the Africa qualifiers for the first time and was just a decade old at the time, astonished the continent by winning both the first and second rounds to secure its first World Cup spot.

South Sudan, which was placed in Group B with Serbia, Puerto Rico, and China, traveled to Manila in an effort to move to the next stage and reach the championship match.

South Sudan, who is ranked 62nd in the world, made a good impression against Puerto Rico early in the game before the Caribbeans came back to defeat them in overtime, 101-96.

Prior to tumbling out of contention for the second round with an 83-115 loss to sixth-ranked Serbia, the squad maintained their aspirations and made history with a commanding 89-69 victory against 20th-ranked China.

South Sudan has benefited from the experience, despite losing and being sent to the classification round. “It’s our first time playing [at a World Cup] and having the national team come this far, it’s been great for us and just seeing the potential we have, I think sky’s the limit for us,” Bright Stars leading scorer Carlik Jones of the Chicago Bulls told Al Jazeera.