By: Lorenzo del Carmen and Jonash Dannug
South Sudan’s Bright Stars are living the dream after securing a spot as the top African nation in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Coach Royal Ivey’s team edged closer to the Parisian games with a convincing 101-78 victory over Angola, while New Zealand’s 88-86 win against Egypt sealed the deal. The Bright Stars concluded their World Cup campaign with a 3-2 record.
“This team is a beam of light. As I keep on saying every post game, bringing unity and camaraderie, love of friendship and to this country. This country has been independent for only 12 years,” said Ivey.
“To do this, to put all things together, it’s incredible. I take my hats off to my players, they trusted us from day one, my coaching staff worked hard. They stayed up nights, breaking down films. You know we were under-manned, and we are now here, going to the Olympics.
“Thank you to the people of South Sudan for staying with us, supporting us. I love this team, this is a great feeling. I wish I could bottle this up right now,” he expressed.
The South Sudanese had a remarkable World Cup campaign. Despite losses to Puerto Rico (101-96) and Serbia (115-83), they secured victories against China (89-69) and the host nation, the Philippines (87-68).
This achievement is groundbreaking for South Sudan, considering it only regained its sovereignty in July 2011, and this marked their debut appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
While making it to the Olympics is a significant accomplishment, putting up a strong performance against the top 11 nations in the tournament is another challenge. It will be another Herculean task for the Bright Stars in their incredible journey.
“You know it’s crazy because we have a very good team. We’re gonna go there and try to win every game we play and that’s our main goal,” said Luol Deng, the president of South Sudan Basketball Federation.
“But really the biggest thing for me, I’m getting emotional as I say it, you know for me I wanted… while we’re going here, in my lifetime, I want to see our flag there,” the former two-time NBA All-Star added.
Both Deng and Ivey played pivotal roles in South Sudan’s rise in basketball. With their leadership, the nation emerged from Zone V and made its first appearance in the AfroBasket in 2021.
Deng, who represented Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics, emphasized that seeing South Sudan’s flag raised in the 2024 Games would mean the world to the players and their country.
“I didn’t win with Great Britain. I walked down the first opening ceremony and we raised the flag as we marched. For me, as much as I loved that, this moment is gonna be everything. It’s gonna be everything for us,” said Deng, who retired professionally in 2019.
“After that, we play basketball and we see how it goes. But just to be able to be in a conversation in representing the flag in that opening ceremony, I think it means a lot for everybody. It’s historic now, but when it happens it would be even amazing,” he added.
Nonetheless, excitement, not trepidation, is what Ivey, Deng, and the rest of the South Sudanese feel after this achievement. Not every nation gets to compete in the Olympics, especially one that qualifies in its first-ever World Cup appearance.
“I am just humbled for the opportunity to coach these guys, to inspire these guys, and these guys I feed off their energy and it’s been a great time for me to just help these guys and the capacity on and off the court. These players are good people. I am happy to be a South Sudanese,” said Ivey.
