South Sudan's beggarly poor experience "surreal" Olympic fairy tales
The basketball players of South Sudan are the big surprise at the Olympic Games in Paris. Before the rematch with the boisterous outsider, title favorite USA is mightily warned. The astonishing successes are closely linked to Luol Deng.
In South Sudan, there is a basketball stadium, but otherwise hardly any sports facilities and certainly no covered court. Nevertheless, the national team is currently making history with its first participation in the Olympic Games. And it gives hope to one of the poorest countries in the world: South Sudan ranks 192nd out of 193 in the UN Human Development Index and is still marked by the civil war from 2013 to 2018 and its consequences.
Therefore, the team itself cannot believe what is happening: "This is so surreal," said coach Royal Ivey after the convincing victory (90:79) in the tournament opener against Puerto Rico. It's a "blessing," said national player Nuni Omot, who scored the first points for his country. For the youngest country in the world, which has existed since 2011 and then sank into a chaotic war under a dictatorship.
And yet: South Sudan has the best team on the African continent. A team that in the Olympic preparations brought the big tournament favorite USA, led by LeBron James, to the brink of a humiliating defeat: 100:101 was the score. On Wednesday (9 p.m. / Eurosport, ARD and in the live ticker at ntv.de), the rematch with the NBA giants will take place, the next chapter in the fairy tale of the South Sudanese.
Looking good for the next years
The astonishing successes are closely linked to Luol Deng, who was active in the NBA himself from 2004 to 2019, including ten years for the Chicago Bulls. The 39-year-old is co-trainer of Ivey and president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation SBFF. He has been promoting the sport for years with his foundation, including the development of basketball infrastructure. Deng is currently pushing for the construction of the first covered hall in the capital Juba.
"We have enough players to be the best in Africa," Deng claimed in an interview with TV station SSGTV, looking at the potential of his home country. The average age of all basketball players in South Sudan is only slightly over 16, there are numerous big talents - also in the literal sense.
Even the NBA legend Manute Bol (2.31 meters) came from the area of South Sudan. His son Bol Bol (2.21 meters) has also made it to the NBA and is a crowd favorite with the Phoenix Suns. As a performance carrier, he was planned in the preliminary SBFF squad, but had to postpone his Olympic dream due to "personal reasons."
Deng, on the other hand, fulfilled this dream in 2012 - with Great Britain, because there was no national team in South Sudan at the time. As a child, he fled his homeland, made it to the NBA via detours. All active national players also had to flee and now play abroad. This should change, because the enthusiasm at home is omnipresent: "When we play, the whole country stands still," said Deng.
Despite being swarmed with media requests, Luol Deng remains tight-lipped about his strategies for the rematch against USA, responding with "I'm not going to tell you." The team's unexpected victories have brought hope and unity to South Sudan, a country currently ranked 192nd out of 193 in the UN Human Development Index.
