South Sudan men's national basketball team

History

2011–19

The team played its first unofficial match in Juba against Ugandan club champions Power on 13 July 2011. Power won the match 86–84.

In 2016, the team played in an exhibition tournament named Indigenous Basketball Competition in Vancouver, Canada.

On 9 January 2016, it was announced by the South Sudan Basketball Federation that Jerry Steele would become the new head coach of the men's national team for preparation of the 2017 AfroBasket competition. Through the agreement Steele would be under contract until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In the 2017 AfroBasket qualifiers, the team was placed in Zone 5 Group A, with Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda. South Sudan played its first official international game on 12 March 2017, against Egypt in Cairo. They would lose to Egypt by 11 points (87–76) in the first match on 12 March. Two days later the national team got it first victory in group stage against Kenya by 2 (68–66). The next day, the team relieved its next loss by ten (80–90) to Rwanda, later placing them in the Classification game. On 12 March, the team would beat Kenya in the Classification game in OT (84–89).

Coach Steele and the South Sudan Basketball Federation parted ways by mutual agreement on 3 October 2017.

On 7 November 2017, Scott Catt was appointed to be the new head coach of the men's national team by the South Sudan Basketball Federation. Madut Bol, son of the late Manute Bol, was also named as assistant head coach of the men's national team.

2020–present

In November 2020, former NBA All-Star Luol Deng became the president of the SSBF. He also briefly coached the team. In September 2021, Royal Ivey, assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, became the head coach of the team. At AfroBasket 2021, South Sudan made its debut at a major tournament and reached the round of 16 after defeating and in the preliminary round. In the round of 16, South Sudan beat , in the quarterfinals the team lost to defending champions .

In the following 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification games, the Bright Stars impressed and had an unbeaten record in the first round (6–0), beating the defending African champions Tunisia twice and qualifying for their first World Cup in the third round with two games left. In the second round, again coached by Royal Ivey, they had another successful streak in order to qualify for South Sudan's first-ever World Cup in 2023.

On August 28, South Sudan earned its first World Cup victory with a dominant win over China in Quezon City, Philippines. South Sudan qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by finishing as the best African team in the World Cup, beating Angola in their final game to qualify for their first-ever Olympics.

In exhibition play leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, South Sudan played the United States and lost by just one point, 100–101, to a team led by four former NBA MVP winners, including LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Marial Shayok scored 25 points for South Sudan.

On the opening day of the Olympics, South Sudan stunned Puerto Rico for their first Olympic victory in the first game of group play, winning 90–79. Carlik Jones led the way with 19 points. The Bright Stars lost their two following games to the United States and Serbia, and thus did not advance past the preliminary stage.

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Record against other teams at the Olympics

Last updated: 1 August 2024

FIBA World Cup

FIBA AfroBasket

Team

Current roster

Roster as of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Head coaches

The following is a list of all head coaches of South Sudan:

References

References

1. "Basketball: South Sudan is FIBA's 54th African member - Uncategorized - News - StarAfrica.com". News - StarAfrica.com.
2. "ABOUT".
3. (15 July 2011). "Power the history boys". New Vision Online.
4. "South Sudan looking to promote the country through basketball".
5. "Steele put in charge of South Sudan's men's national team – FIBA.basketball".
6. "Egypt off to flying start with win over South Sudan in FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Group F Qualifier opener".
7. "South Sudan Basketball Coaches – TeamSouthSudan".
8. (27 November 2019). "NBA star Deng elected President of South Sudan Basketball Federation".
9. (17 May 2021). "South Sudan Coach Royal Ivey: "The Talent Runs Deep in Africa"".
10. "History made as South Sudan outlast Senegal to qualify for the 2023 World Cup".
11. Ninrew, Chany. (2023-08-28). "South Sudan sink China in FIBA World Cup but rough road ahead".
12. (2 September 2023). "'So surreal': South Sudan beat Angola to qualify for Paris 2024".
13. Joseph, Samuel. (2024-07-21). "Team USA survives scare in Olympic warmup, scraping past South Sudan 101-100".
14. [https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/1742601/maccabi-adds-south-sudan-star-marial-shayok/ "Maccabi adds South Sudan star Marial Shayok,"] ''Eurohoops'', November 13, 2024,
15. (2024-07-28). "Unforgettable first: South Sudan overcomes Puerto Rico with team effort".
16. (28 July 2024). "South Sudan stuns Puerto Rico for first-ever Olympic hoops win".
17. (2024-07-31). "Adebayo-led bench helps U.S. topple South Sudan".
18. (2024-08-03). "Bogdanovic, Jokic hold off South Sudan, pull Greece to QFs".
19. (21 July 2018). "interview : Scott Catt, the new head coach for the South Sudan National Basketball Team".
20. "South Sudan Basketball Coaches – TeamSouthSudan".
21. "South Sudan coach Deng: ''We want to make things right''". FIBA.basketball.
22. (25 November 2020). "Luol Deng combines president role with head coaching duties at South Sudan". Eurohoops.