South Sudan made history at the Paris Olympics for winning its first-ever Olympic game since gaining its independence as a country in 2011. The men’s basketball team won 90-79 against Puerto Rico on Sunday. The country’s first Olympics was in 2016 and this was their first time competing in men’s basketball. Overall, it is also just second win in men’s basketball for an African country at the Olympics since 1996.
“We’re not a secret anymore,” South Sudan’s coach Royal Ivey said after the game, according to ESPN .
Before tipoff, officials played the wrong national anthem for South Sudan – yet player Nuni Omot saw it as motivation for the game.
“It gave us fuel. It gave us fuel to the fire,” Omot said. “Obviously, we felt disrespected when that happened. … I feel like for us, we’ve got to continue to show the world what we’re capable of.”
“It means a lot, just to be here,” forward Majok Deng added, according to Olympics.com . “It was a surreal moment and emotional in a way too because to raise your flag at that stage means everything and that’s what we’re fighting for.”
After gaining its independence following a referendum, South Sudan descended into a civil war. The conflict ended in 2018. The country’s participation in international competitions holds a special meaning for the athletes and the rest of the nation.
“Growing up, at first we didn’t have a country, you know?” Wenyen Gabriel, who played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers, the the Los Angeles Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans, told CNN . “It was just Sudan and we didn’t have South Sudan.”
To this day, the country has no indoor basketball facilities.
“Knowing that, there’s a bunch of kids, a bunch of youth, that are from South Sudan that look up to us, that are inspired by what we do, that think that maybe they can make it next – for me to go represent the country, be one of the first group is just an honor to me,” Gabriel added.
South Sudan is also the only African men’s basketball team to qualify in the Paris Olympics (Nigeria qualified for the women’s competition).
“For all of us it’s a journey that’s bigger than basketball,” player Luol Deng said during a recent news conference ahead of the Olympics. “Sports can elevate and motivate a nation.
“We’re going out there to represent something that’s bigger than ourselves and that’s known at every single point that we’re out there,” Gabriel added. “Even though other [African] teams might not be in the Olympics, they’re still maybe rooting for us … So representing that, it shows even more continuity and gave us like a common goal.”
Catch South Sudan playing against the United States on July 31 and against Serbia on Aug. 3.
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