South Sudan's national Basketball team. |Photo: Courtesy.

South Sudan struggled to protect their perimeter line and lose to a dogged Senegal that desperately needed wins to keep their hope for a world cup place alive.

The Bright Stars were unlike their aggressive and intense selves and ended up being beaten by three points margin on 69-66 by Lions of Terenga, in front of a huge crowd of fans.

South Sudan had a lot of misfiring and poor Free-Throw shooting on the night, with Nuni Omot missing one of his two shots from the charity stripe that could have tied the contest at 67-all in the critical last seconds of the game.

However, Bul Kuol and Sunday Dech were shining as the duo scored 16 points and 13 points respectively, but still, they found no answers to Senegal’s desperation and determination.

And sensing a potential South Sudan comeback, Senegal pushed the ball forward, forcing their opponents to foul.

Ibrahima Faye received an inbound pass from Brancou Badio for a thunderous dunk that determined the final score.

Gorgui Dieng did everything he possibly could to keep Senegal in the race for a place in next year’s World Cup.

“He had a task of scoring the ball, putting his body on the line against the South Sudanese towers, and, more importantly, he led the young Senegalese in critical moments of the game. Dieng passed his task with  high grades thanks to sublime leadership skills,” FIBA Basketball reports.

South Sudan gave up 14 three-pointers, seven of which in the final and decisive fourth quarter.

Five Senegalese players converted at least two shots from behind the arc, but it was Gorgui Dieng whose 4-for-8 three-pointers hurt South Sudan the most. Dieng  finished with a game-high of 17 points and completed his double-double with 15 rebounds.