‘The world knows us.’ South Sudanese cheer their basketball team’s rise and Olympic qualification

By DENG MACHOL
Associated Press

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Basketball has united the South Sudanese. The country which gained its independence just 12 years ago is still celebrating the men’s national team after its first-ever qualification for the Olympics. South Sudan will play at the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa thanks to a 101-78 win over Angola a week ago at the basketball World Cup in the Philippines. Thousands of fans some wrapped in the national flag blew horns and flooded the streets of the capital this week to welcome the team home. The players and staff met Friday with South Sudan President Salva Kiir. The government called the Olympic qualification a “remarkable achievement.”