Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

FIBA WORLD CUP

Olympic stint energizes South Sudan

South Sudan, a first time participant in the FIBA World Cup, is also headed to the Paris Olympics. (Photo, FIBA)
SOCIAL MEDIA

South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey could not hold back his emotions after his squad achieved a historic first-ever Olympic berth for being the highest-ranked African team in the FIBA World Cup.

“I’m speechless right now to be quite honest. It’s so surreal going to the Olympics. I have nothing to say,” Ivey said as he took a long pause to shed tears of joy.

The conflict-torn nation, which gained independence 12 years ago, is heading to the Paris Olympics next year following a 101-78 win over Angola to complete a sweep of the classification round last Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

South Sundan’s victory coupled with Egypt’s 86-88 loss to New Zealand sealed the milestone for the country’s basketball program founded by former National Basketball Association star Luol Deng a decade ago.

“This team is a beam of light, like (what) I keep on saying every postgame. We bring unity, camaraderie, love, and friendship to this country, and that’s what we did,” Ivey said.

“This country’s only been independent for 12 years. To do this, for Luol Deng to put this together, this is incredible. This is incredible. I take my hat off to my players because they trusted us from day one, our coaching staff,” he added.

South Sudan led by Chicago Bulls guard Carlik Jones made an amazing run in its World Cup debut.

After scoring one win in the first round – a blowout over China, the South Sudanese pushed themselves closer to their Olympic dream after crushing home squad Gilas Pilipinas last Thursday at the start of the classification phase.

Then came their glorious victory over their African rival.

“A year ago, we were practicing outside, with eagles flying around while we were practicing, and the courts were flooded,” Ivey recalled.

“To come from there, to come and play in front of these fans in the Philippines, man, I’m on cloud nine right now. It’s a great feeling. These guys work, they persevere, they listen. It’s a great feeling.”

“Kudos to my guys, because without them, we wouldn’t be standing right here. They did everything I asked them to do, and now we’re reaping the benefits. It’s a good feeling, so we got to go back to the drawing board, get better, and move this train because it’s not stopping. We’ll continue to get better.”

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

SPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAManny Pacquiao knows his time is up. This was the keen observation made by a longtime member of his training team who spent...

ESPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAThe dynamic duo of Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie James “Wise” del Rosario is back with a bang after leading Blacklist International to...

SPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAThe University Athletic Association of the Philippines will have a full calendar of sports events for Season 85 starting 1 October. UAAP President...

ESPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAECHO has revealed its roster for the upcoming M4 Mobile Legends World Championship to be held 1-15 January 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The...

SPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAIt’s going to be business as usual as the Philippine Basketball Association will not stop its on-court activities when it gives way for...

SPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIAIt doesn’t look as if newly-crowned Melvin Jerusalem will get the luxury of defending his minimumweight crown against a handpicked rival after the...

SPORTS

Mitchell, meanwhile, is a six-foot shooting guard frowm Hartford University.

SPORTS

SOCIAL MEDIALegendary boxing referee Carlos ‘Sonny’ Padilla was recently inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. Famous for serving as the third man...

Copyright © DAILY TRIBUNE