South Sudan eager to impress in first-ever African basketball World Cup qualifier

Johannesburg - South Sudan are a rising force in world basketball, and will be eager to impress in their first-ever participation in the Basketball World Cup Africa qualifiers next month.

The Africa qualifiers will be held in Senegal, and South Sudan will take on Rwanda, Tunisia and Cameroon between February 25 and 27.

Star South Sudan player Kuany Ngor Kuany told Fiba.Basketball: “ We are very, very excited. As players, as a country, and everyone that supports us, we are very, very excited.

“The AfroBasket Qualifiers were all our first time. We are beyond excited about playing in Senegal.”

With the unstable government in South Sudan, civil unrest and continued killing of citizens over the past two years by ethnic militias - the North African nation needs some inspiring news and basketball might just be what the country needs believes Kuany.

"Because of what's going on in South Sudan, a lot of people are going through tough times and don't have a lot to look forward to.

“When we go out there and play and represent the country, whether we win or not, just the fact that we are out there representing South Sudan gives a lot of positive news to the county, a lot of positivity to people who don't have much to smile about.

"For us to go out there and give people some joy, happiness and positivity to ourselves, our family and our country we don't take it for granted. We really can't wait.”

The 27-year-old Kuany was part of South Sudan’s team which played in qualifiers for the 2021 African Basketball Championship (AfroBasket). The team went on to play in the tournament in Rwanda in August and September, when they made it to the quarterfinals before losing 80-65 to eventual champions Tunisia.

"We need to get used to playing better in the half-court game, for example when it comes to Tunisia as they have played together for a long time and try to slow it down. We need to be able to play that slow game as well," he said.

"We tried to make them tired but they made adjustments and we need to make adjustments as well.”

As for coming up against Rwanda in the qualifiers, Kuany said his side were up for the challenge.

“They are always ready and play hard whether they are up and down. We know it's going to be a dogfight," he said.

"They have improved so much since the last time we played them. They have a veteran team and we need to take care of that game before we think about Tunisia.”

Playing Tunisia again, South Sudan will aim to spring a surprise said Kuany.

"The whole country is looking forward to this game. We've been able to go back and adjust and see what we did wrong, but also the feeling that we lost to these guys and knowing it’s a revenge game and we will do our best."

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