South Sudan friendlies against Great Britain. (-)

South Sudan basketball team defeated Great Britain 84-81 at the Copper Box Arena in London, extending their magnificent show of form days after hammering Portugal as they prepare for the historic Paris Olympics.

The hosts were leading by 10 points (35-25) midway through the second quarter before the Bright Stars found the right approach to begin a comeback before halftime.

Royal Ivey’s men then made a 14-1 run to close the second quarter, gaining momentum in the third quarter, where a three-point transition put them in the lead and they managed to slow down the British offensive attempts.

Having won their last two friendlies, the Bright Stars are set to take on the USA on 22nd July in London, just a week before they battle Puerto Rico in the Paris Olympic Games.

Marial Shayok was the star of the match as he topped the score with 27 points, followed by 15 points from Bul Kuol – during what the British media term as “a special day” for Basketball Federation president Luol Deng, who returned to his second home where he played for at the 2012 Olympic Games.

South Sudan made history in their first appearance on the global stage at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and qualified directly for the 2024 Olympics – finishing 17th and becoming the African team that placed highest in the tournament.

The national cabinet recently approved 9 million US dollars to facilitate the participation of the National team in the Olympic Games after the Minister of Youth and Sport, Dr Joseph Geng Akech, presented a memo requesting the amount.

Last month, South Sudan’s foreign minister appealed to the French government to ease a three-month visa approval for an unspecified number of South Sudanese basketball and athletic fans set to attend the Paris Olympics.

Ramadan Mohammed Goc, in a meeting with French Ambassador Christian Bader, discussed the visa challenges facing South Sudanese, where he encouraged Paris to grant the Schengen visa – an entry permit for non-European Union nationals to make a short, temporary EU visit.