Sport has the ability to bring together tall and short, shy and extroverted, and above all, rich and poor. This is evidenced by the basketball history of South Sudan, the most recent state in the world (2011). Decades of civil war and strong political instability have turned the African country into one of the poorest on the planet, but under the leadership of former NBA player Luol Deng, who dreamed of elevating his native country to the Olympus of the basketthe South Sudanese basketball team has undergone an almost miraculous evolution that has allowed them to arrive at the Paris Games with the aura of a surprise team. After beating Puerto Rico in their historic debut last Sunday, South Sudan faces Puerto Rico on Wednesday. almighty United States combined (21.00), which they were close to defeating in the pre-Olympic tournament despite the huge differences in economic and Olympic experience between the two nations.
South Sudan, located in the heart of Africa, is the youngest country in the world and has just over 12 million inhabitants, mostly Christian, unlike Sudan, where Muslims predominate. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of 421 dollars (389 euros), according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
After spending the first half of the 20th century under shared sovereignty between Egypt and the United Kingdom, the Republic of Sudan achieved its independence in 1956. For decades, two long wars (1955-1972 and 1983-2005) pitted the north against the south, devastating the country and driving millions of people into exile until 2011, when South Sudan gained independence thanks to massive support (98%) reflected in a referendum. Two years later, a new civil war began—within the new state—which did not cease until 2020, but whose after-effects still remain in the form of hunger, violence and political instability that only basketball allows us to momentarily forget.
Their qualification for the Olympic Games is unusual for a country that played its first professional game in 2017, although it soon after managed to qualify for the 2023 Basketball World Cup and obtain its ticket to Paris. In what is so far its greatest sporting feat, South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico (90-79) in its Olympic debut last Saturday. To put it in perspective, it was the second victory for an African country in men’s basketball since Atlanta 1996. However, the feat was accompanied by an embarrassing image: the public address system confused the national anthem of South Sudan with that of Sudan during the pre-match and the players were stunned. The next objective is the Team USAwhich they were close to winning in the pre-Olympic (101-100), if not for a saving move by LeBron James and a controversial referee decision in the final moments.
From a macroeconomic point of view, which is influential but not decisive in sport, the duel against the United States is one of the most unequal in history. According to the IMF, the US GDP per capita is 85,370 dollars (78,962 euros), compared to 421 dollars (389 euros) for South Sudan. The CIA estimates South Sudan’s GDP at 18.47 billion euros, almost the same as the US military expenditure in one week (17.567 billion euros), according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
After coming close to winning against the United States, power forward Wenyen Gabriel (now with Maccabi Tel Aviv) gave a glimpse of these differences in his statements to the press. “We don’t have an indoor court in our country, but we want to earn the respect of the world. We are a few refugees who get together a few weeks a year to face the best players in the world, and even in history.”
A team of refugees
All the members of the national team, except for center Khaman Maluach, are descendants of refugees who fled war and hunger to countries like Australia, Canada, the United States or England. Others, like Jack Kacuol or Nuni Omot, grew up in Uganda and Kenya, respectively. In short, children of war who now return home through basketball on a messianic mission for the young country.
Of the 12 Sudanese players for the Olympics, only Alaska-raised forward JT Thor plays in the NBA (Charlotte Hornets). Only talented Ohio-born point guard Carlik Jones is in the mix. He plays in Europe (Partizan Belgrade), although he can boast of being the only player in history to have achieved a triple-double against the USA thanks to his performance in the preparatory tournament. The rest play, for the most part, in the Australian, Chinese and Canadian leagues.
The only player born in South Sudan is the young Khaman Maluach, a dominant centre thanks to his 2.18 centimetres at just 17 years old. He plays for Ugandan side City Oliers in the African league and is projected for the draft 2025. Before that, he will play at the prestigious Duke University with the cachet of having played in the Olympics before debuting in the university league.
Luol Deng, the architect
The key to South Sudan’s success lies in the partnership formed by two lifelong friends who were brought together by basketball in the United States: the team’s coach, Royal Ivey, and the president of the South Sudanese basketball federation, Luol Deng. At 38 years old, the former British player of South Sudanese origin – who played 15 seasons in the NBA and became an All Star – is the ideologist and financier of the project as part of a dream and a personal goal.
In 2012, he had the option to represent South Sudan after it gained independence a year earlier, but decided to join the UK squad for the London Games in 2012. In 2019, his brother pushed him to become president of the South Sudanese federation. basket from a country without basketball courts and where the giant former player Manute Bol (2.31 cm) represents the only national reference. “This is like a movie. We don’t have a gym or a residence. We have set up a training camp in Rwanda, taking very long flights where my players who are over two metres tall could barely fit. Without Luol Deng, who has been paying for hotels, courts and flights out of his own pocket, we wouldn’t be here,” explains the coach.
Another of Deng’s tasks is to convince players with South Sudanese roots – but scattered around the world – to represent the national team. With millions of exiles due to wars, many of the eligible professionals represent other countries, so obtaining FIBA licenses or convincing talents to join Deng’s “crazy” project has been a challenge, the president explained to ESPN before the Games.
For Deng, who has never been able to defend his country’s colours on the court, having led South Sudan to the Games closes a circle and completes his redemption. Beating the USA and making it to the knockout stages would be a historic feat capable of putting the young country on the map so that its anthem is never mistaken again.
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