In a couple of flicks of the wrist, South Sudan reached a milestone moment in its run in the FIBA World Cup by securing a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The young nation, founded just 12 years ago, did its part in drawing closer to the Summer Games by dominating African rival Angola, 101-78, at the close of the classification round on Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Then the South Sudanese put their Olympics dream in the hands of Reuben Te Rangi, who sank the game-winning free throws in the last 17 seconds for New Zealand’s 88-86 win over Egypt at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Kiwis’ victory formally handed South Sudan the Paris berth reserved for the best-placed African squad in the World Cup.
South Sudan took advantage of Bruno Fernando’s absence to rip the Angolans and complete a sweep of the classification phase following an 87-68 beating of Gilas Pilipinas last Thursday.
Carlik Jones had another brilliant, all-around performance as he finished with 26 points and 15 assists to go along with seven rebounds as he completely set the tone for the South Sudanese’s domination of the Fernando-less Angola team.
Fernando, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association could only watch helplessly from the bench due to an ankle injury and saw South Sudan scoring 44 points inside the paint, 14 more than its rival.
But South Sudan had to hold its breath and wait for the Egypt-New Zealand match which was nearly simultaneously being played.
“Every athlete is dreaming of playing there and putting yourself in this position is really crazy,” said Marial Shayok of South Sudan, who added 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
“It hasn’t sunk in to me now yet, but if ever we play there, it would be pretty cool.”
For 16-year-old Khaman Maluach, getting to the Olympics at a very young age means something a lot for him.
“It means something to me and it motivates me more to keep on walking,” said Maluach, the youngest player in the FIBA World Cup. “It shows me that I’m on the right track and I’m on the right path. It keeps me doing what I’m doing right now.”
Securing an Olympic berth might be elusive to many, but going there came sooner than expected for Maluach.
“Honestly, I never thought that I would make it there and was even thinking if I’m eligible to play. But I have this tough mentality of making it to the roster.”
