South Sudan’s Olympics didn’t have a storybook ending, but it inspired it to add layers to its story

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — South Sudan’s players trudged through the handshake line after a 96-85 loss to Serbia that eliminated their team from the men’s Olympic basketball tournament.

They took in long embraces from opposing players from whom they’d earned total respect.

The team lingered near midcourt as the crowd inside Lillie’s Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Saturday night applauded the effort it had shown pulling off a near-upset of a Serbian team ranked fourth in the world by FIBA.

Fans – South Sudanese, Serbian and adopted locals -- also were saluting a week in which the first-time Olympic basketball qualifier opened the tournament by posting an historic victory only days before over Puerto Rico.

“Hats off to them,” Serbia star Bogdan Bogdanovic said. “What Luol Deng has done for their federation is amazing. You can see the work is paying off.”

Deng, of course, is the South Sudanese-born former Duke star who played 16 seasons in the NBA before becoming South Sudan’s basketball federation president in 2019.

Though he and head coach Royal Ivey took issue after the Serbian loss with how they felt the game was officiated, Deng also took a moment to appreciate how much the team had accomplished on international basketball’s biggest stage.

“I’m proud of my guys. I’m proud of the federation. I’m proud of South Sudan. I’m proud of our fans. I’m proud of the continent,” Deng said. “We thank everybody that’s been able to help us out. This was a group effort. We showed a way of how to build the basketball going forward. And I think that the rest of the continent and the rest of the countries will follow the similar thing that we’re doing.”

Since 2019, South Sudan basketball has scrapped just to exist, with Deng using millions of his own dollars to prop up a team whose war-torn country has only a single outdoor court. It’s dirt, with one rim higher than the other, and no official 10-foot regulation goals.

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Because of the modest infrastructure, the South Sudan squad spent recent years of competition and leadup to the Olympics as nomads, practicing in Rwanda – a 500-mile flight from South Sudan.

It’s what made the abrupt end to South Sudan’s run at the Paris Games so painful for players who Ivey said were “crying in the locker room afterward.”

Marial Shayok believes what they accomplished over the past week will resonate with a generation of young players who’d never seen South Sudan basketball on this level. They’ve gone from being disrespected by the playing of the wrong national anthem before the Puerto Rico game, to being showered with it.

“It’s just the beginning of a bright future. And it’s just an amazing feeling,” Shayok said. “I hope it inspires ... South Sudanese kids all over the world. And, the motivation is as high as it can get to get back on the stage and go even further.”

And it motivates players such as Nuni Omot, who believes challenging the world’s best has opened eyes to the talent in Africa. He said he knows “I belong to play with those guys.”

“You never know who’s watching,” he said.

But Deng also doesn’t want the affinity that people have shown for South Sudan’s journey to the Olympics to simply be a feel-good story with a shelf life only extending to an Olympic closing ceremony.

“We appreciate all the love,” Deng said. “I think that everybody’s been desperate for it. There’s a lot of people that support and do great work, to elevate the game and also see African athletes can reach the highs and compete for their countries.

“It’s happening in all sports, where a lot of African players are playing for other countries. And we’ve got to keep on developing and change that narrative.”

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