Hungry Jack's NBL
South Sudan "Can Keep Shocking the World"
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By Dan Woods for NBL.com.au
This South Sudanese basketball team keeps silencing doubters.
Pockets of fans thought their quarter-final appearance at AfroBasket in 2021 may have been a flash in the pan success. Their 11-1 record in the World Cup African qualifiers – the best from the continent – has hammered home the fact the young nation has arrived as a basketball success.
There’s a massive NBL influence on the success of the side. Uncontracted Adelaide centre Deng Acuoth appeared in all 12 qualifiers ahead of the upcoming world cup. Sunday Dech and Majok Deng each played nine games, Bul Kuol played eight, while Deng Deng and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr also featured.
Former Cairns and Kings forward Kuany Kuany was also a mainstay in the side over the campaign, as was Sydney guard Jackson Makoi prior to his serious knee injury.
Current Al Ahly guard Nuni Omot is undoubtedly one of the stars of the side. The 28-year-old – who is currently playing alongside Corey Webster in the Basketball Africa League – has previously spent time in the NBA G-League with the Nets and Knicks.
He’s backing his side to continue their trend of shocking the world.
“We’ve just got to come out and continue to shock the world the way he have been,” Omot told FIBA.basketball. “I feel like if we just lock in [and] our coaches put us together, I feel like we can keep shocking the world.”
South Sudan has been drawn in a tough group alongside Serbia, China and Puerto Rico.
NBL23 pair Gary Browne and Zhou Qi can be expected to be among South Sudan’s opposition at the tournament for Puerto Rico and China respectively, while former Brisbane Bullets centre Liu Chuanxing will be hoping to earn his place alongside Qi in China’s side.
“There’s going to be a lot of good players ... good teams,” Omot continued. “Serbia have a lot of NBA guys, a lot of high level European players; China [have] got some talented guys; Puerto Rico – I know some guys on the team, I played in Puerto Rico last summer – they have good guards.
“We are always the underdogs. We’ve been the underdogs since day one.
“To be able to showcase with my brothers, to show the talent there is in Africa and South Sudan means the world.
“To be able to be in this stage is a dream come true.”
South Sudan will take part in the ‘Boomers vs World’ campaign ahead of the tournament where they, alongside Australia, Brazil and Venezuela, will play a round-robin tournament over the course of three different nights.
They will clash with the Boomers in the final game of the event, on Thursday, August 17.
