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South Sudan savor first-ever FIBA World Cup win

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="China and South Sudan battle in a Group B game during the 2023 FIBA 2023 World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on August 28, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/08/28/20230828-fiba-china-south-sudan-jc3765.jpg"/><figcaption>China and South Sudan battle in a Group B game during the 2023 FIBA 2023 World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on August 28, 2023. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey said his team &quot;played with fire&quot; after stunning China to claim their first-ever win at the Basketball World Cup on Monday.</p><p>The world&#x27;s number 62-ranked team scored 15 three-point shots on their way to an 89-69 victory in Manila, keeping their hopes of a second-round place alive in their World Cup debut.</p><p>South Sudan became an independent country in 2011 and played their first official international basketball game only six years ago.</p><p>But Ivey said their win over world number 27-ranked China was fully deserved, as his players &quot;stuck to the game plan from the opening tip to the closing horn&quot;.</p><p>&quot;They were resilient, persistent, they had laser-like focus, they followed the game plan and competed at the highest level,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;They played with emotion, they played with fight, they played with fire. We competed all 40 minutes and we came out with the victory.&quot;</p><p>South Sudan led for most of their opening game at the tournament against Puerto Rico on Saturday before losing 101-96 in overtime.</p><p>They also made a strong start against China but they kept their noses in front this time, outscoring their opponents by 10 points in the final quarter.</p><p>Carlik Jones, who scored 35 points against Puerto Rico, had 21 against China to lead South Sudan in scoring.</p><p>Forward Nuni Omot said the win was &quot;a dream come true&quot;.</p><p>&quot;To be able to do this in front of our fans, people watching back at home, it&#x27;s been a very emotional day for everyone, getting our first ever World Cup win,&quot; he said.</p><p>South Sudan can qualify for the next stage if they beat Serbia in their final group game on Wednesday.</p><p>Ivey said his team were &quot;not satisfied&quot; with only one win and vowed to give their all.</p><p>&quot;My thing is: no pressure,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;My guys play free, play together, they stay together whether we&#x27;re up 20 or down 20, we don&#x27;t flinch.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re going to come out there and give it our best shot.&quot;</p><p>Ivey also paid tribute to Luol Deng, the former NBA player who has masterminded South Sudan&#x27;s rise in his role as president of the country&#x27;s basketball federation.</p><p>&quot;Luol Deng is the heart and soul of all of this,&quot; Ivey said of Deng, who played in the NBA for 15 years before retiring in 2019.</p><p>&quot;Without Luol, I wouldn&#x27;t be sitting here right now.</p><p>&quot;He had a great vision, I entrusted in his vision and it all came together.&quot;</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p><div><b>For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/fibaworldcup2023" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1iudgm9RNng?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div> </div>

South Sudan scored 15 three-point shots on their way to an 89-69 victory over China, keeping their hopes of a second-round place alive in their World Cup debut.