South Sudan Makes History by Qualifying for Paris 2024 Olympics

South Sudan has secured their first Olympic basketball place after beating Angola 101-78 on Saturday, 2 September 2023 in Manila, Philippines.

🏀 SSD takes lead vs Angola in last stand at the 2023 World Cup 🇸🇸#WinForSouthSudan pic.twitter.com/4bkZIqM2tK

— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) September 2, 2023

Less than a decade after its basketball federation was inaugurated, South Sudan clinched the sole Paris 2024 qualifying spot for Africa on offer at the FIBA World Cup 2023.

The American-South Sudanese guard Carlik Jones completed his third double-double of the tournament – 26 points and 15 assists – to lead the World Cup debutants to a 101-78 victory over Angola in Manila’s Araneta Coliseum. Those results guaranteed South Sudan the highest finish of any African team in the tournament and, with it, a place in Paris.

South Sudan’s basketball team Bright Stars has been making many history-making strides. South Sudan remained alive in the race for the 2024 Olympics and the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments with an 87-68 win over Philippines in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Classification 17-32 thanks to Jones nearly registering first triple-double in World Cup history. In addition, basketball’s youngest nation showed their poise after losing to Serbia in the First Round and became the first African team in the tournament with two victories. Jones was among five South Sudanese players in double figures in the Group M game, which was the first-ever showdown between South Sudan and Philippines.

Paris 2024 will host the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games from 26 July to 11 August 2023.

Source: FIBA

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