FIBA.basketball recalls South Sudan’s journey and shows the numbers that made the Bright Stars a team to be reckoned with.
The South Sudan Bright stars might soon be making history in the FIBA World Cup 2023 to be held from August to September 2023 in the Asian tri-nations of Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines as one of Africa’s representatives in the tournament.
South Sudan became the talk of the town amongst the basketball community when they finished the first round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Africa qualifiers with a 6-0 undefeated record and having beat the reigning African champions Tunisia twice within the first round of qualifiers.
Based on Fiba rankings dating back from 2017, the team has continuously climbed through the rankings coming from No. 137 in the World; No. 29 in Africa in December of 2017 to currently No.63 in the World; No. 7 in Africa as of December 2022
The team attributes their success to the hard work they have put in and we can all agree that their determination, discipline, and consistency have played a key role in seeing the team reap the fruits of their labor
The South Sudan Basketball Federation (SSBF) president, Luol Deng has been instrumental in the team’s development and has coached them throughout the tournament together with Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey have both complimented the players for their grit, high spirit, and collective effort.
Based on the previous window of qualifiers in November 2022, the team managed to rank at #1 with a record of 6-0 in Group B where they got home to a hero’s welcome by being hosted by the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir
The Bright Stars, currently stand at an 8-1 record in the African qualifiers and will attempt to qualify for the World Cup for the first time during the final Window 5 from February 24 to 26, 2023 and we wish them nothing but the best.