On Saturday morning, South Sudan players goofed off for the last five minutes of practice. It was their final game day in the FIBA World Cup, and the lone African direct berth to the 2024 Paris Olympics was on the line. No pressure.
Players were yelling and cheering during shootaround. A couple of them went for one-on-one street ball.
Carlik Jones, South Sudan's leading scorer, who averaged 20.4 points and 10.4 assists in the FIBA World Cup, decided to be the "shooter" of the day. Not with a ball, but with a camera.
"I think sometimes we forget to be human," Jones told One Sports after their game against Angola. "There's a lot of pressure that goes to these games. Sometimes you just need to smile, laugh, joke around a little but to let that tension go."
"It's just part of my personality," he said. "I'm a goofy guy. I just love to have fun and laugh."
"These guys welcomed me with open arms," the Chicago Bulls guard added. "These guys are my brothers. They treat me like a brother. They're my brothers."
For Nuni Omot, the brotherhood is important despite hailing from different tribes.
"Our team is probably the most unified team, we get along," Omot explained to One Sports. "There's nobody that has much energy, has much enjoyment as being around one another as we do."
A few hours later, the FIBA World Cup debutant took on Angola. On the court inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Bright Stars were facing the Black Antelopes. But in the battle for the lone African slot to the Olympics, South Sudan was racing against Egypt, which was locked in its own battle against New Zealand a few cities away at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Angola took the lead once, 4-3, in the first quarter. Then it was South Sudan all the way, blowing up the lead as huge as 23. South Sudan ran away with the game, 101-78. And they were primed to take that Olympic spot, with Egypt falling behind New Zealand.
Outside, the fans who watched all of the Bright Stars' games were celebrating and chanting, "We. Are. South Sudan! We. Are. South Sudan!"
Egypt had fallen to New Zealand by just two points. South Sudan, a country which just gained independence in 2011, joined FIBA in 2013, and reached its first FIBA World Cup this 2023, will be heading to its first Olympic basketball appearance next year.
In the dugout, even the coaches were busting moves.
"The fact that we got to hammer our destiny and control the things we could and come out here and get a win, feel pretty good about that," guard Marial Shayok said.
"For me to reach a milestone like this, unbelievable," Omot added. "Not a lot of people can say they're able to go to the Olympics."
By the time coach Royal Ivey walked into the postgame press conference, he was losing his voice.
"So thankful, shout out to the coaching staff, [South Sudan basketball federation head] Luol [Deng], my high school coach Joe Mantegna, the medical staff keeping our guys healthy," Ivey paused, covering his face. "What a game. What a game. I'm speechless right now. So surreal. Going to the Olympics. I have nothing to say."
At that moment, Night Taban, a reporter for MTN South Sudan was wiping tears from her face.
"Seeing the coach break down, it made me really believe this is actually happening," she said after the press conference.
"In the beginning, we were just excited about us winning. But when the coach was breaking down, it made me remember," she paused, shaking her head. "...That this is something we never thought would happen."
"When we came here for the World Cup, we didn't really think we would qualify for the Olympics. I couldn't handle myself, I was so proud, so proud to be South Sudanese, to be going to the Olympics."
For Deng, it started in high school, when Ivey gave him a pair of basketball shoes to wear.
Deng gave him back a gift worth more than all the gold in the world: A vision and the chance to make history for South Sudan.
"South Sudan has gone through a lot, gone through division. This is an opportunity to unite through our basketball team," MTN South Sudan reporter Denis Lejugbo explained.
He and Taban hugged, in tears, after the press conference, absorbing the reality that they were heading to the Olympics.
"South Sudan is made up of 64 tribes. Now, we have a tool that we can use to rally all South Sudanese, because we are united," Lejugbo explained.
"We stood divided before, we can do a lot more when we are united as a country."
Deng had a vision of changing the narrative for the African nation, and basketball made it happen. Basketball is bringing peace and unity to South Sudan.
His voice shook as he spoke about the idea of flying the South Sudan flag.
"I want in my lifetime to see our flag, I did it with Great Britain," Deng said, his voice wavering.
"The other day, our VP [vice president], for us he's the one who saw the vision of us standing up for ourself and fighting back from being oppressed," Deng recounted. "I think today, that day has come."
"When we get to the Olympics, we'll be able to raise the flag for the first time ever," he recounted.
Before, South Sudanese athletes were either wearing the flags of other countries or the refugee flag. In 2024, it is going to be different.
"We will raise the flag as we march. This moment is gonna be everything," Deng said.
"A lot of people see South Sudan as just war, they see violence. What we're trying to do right now is we're trying to unify as one," Omot said. "Gonna give a lot of young guys in the future the opportunity."
It cannot be stated enough. This is more than basketball for South Sudan.
"We can develop economically, we can develop as people," Lejugbo said.
"I still can't believe it," he added, looking at Taban. "But we thank God for that and we are grateful for being here."
"I feel like the world always looked down on us," Taban said, her voice shaking, "This is our time to shine now. It's time for the world to learn about South Sudan and who we really are."
"We have a lot of potential and we can make it in a lot of world stages, not just in the World Cup," she added. "Sports is something we can invest in and basketball is just the beginning."
"There's a light being shone on South Sudan, a country that no one knew," Lejugbo said. "Now everyone knows South Sudan."
(GM)