South Sudan names finalised World Cup roster

South Sudan has named its final 12 players who will be taking part in the nation’s historic World Cup bow later this month, with four current and three former NBL stars being named to the side.

Adelaide’s Sunday Dech headlines the side alongside new Tasmania signings Junior Madut and Majok Deng, and Breaker Mangok Mathiang.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bright Stars looking at a historical <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAWC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAWC</a> experience ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinForSouthSudan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WinForSouthSudan</a> ?? <a href="https://t.co/3FQ1QUVY7Q">pic.twitter.com/3FQ1QUVY7Q</a></p>&mdash; FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 ? (@FIBAWC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1689518495338287104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dech’s NBL23 teammate Deng Acuoth has also been named alongside former Cairns and Sydney forward Kuany Kuany and former NBL champion Mathiang Muo.

NBA players Wenyen Gabriel and Carlik Jones have also been named.

Former NBL Rookie of the Year Bul Kuol and former NBL MVP candidate Jo Lual-Acuil Jr will unfortunately miss the tournament due to injuries picked up prior to training camp, as will Sydney development player Jackson Makoi.

Lual-Acuil Jr's wrist injury will also see him miss the opening weeks of NBL24.

The Bright Stars will take on Australia, Venezuela and Brazil in the ‘Boomers vs World’ pre-tournament series before heading to Manila for the group stage.

They play Puerto Rico, Serbia and China in the group stage.