South Sudan vs Philippines Basketball - Credit: Sportskeeda

South Sudan basketball team must win the game against the Philippines to secure a chance to qualify for the Olympic games in Paris 2024 today afternoon.

The team will be in a head-to-head matchup against the Philippines for the FIBA World Cup 2023, on Thursday afternoon August 31.

The Bright Stars is ranked the best-performing African team in the group stage.

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is on to the second round, and the number of countries competing for a gold medal has been trimmed from 32 to 16.

But just because 16 countries have been eliminated from medal contention doesn’t mean their FIBA World Cup is over.

The countries that did not advance to the second round will play games in the Classification Round, where they still battle for a chance at qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Classification Games 17-32, with spots in the Paris 2024 Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament and the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 up for grabs.

In Group B, South Sudan has a 1-2 record. Meanwhile, the Phillippines belong to Group A and are yet to secure a win in the World Cup as they have gone 0-3.

South Sudan’s lone 89-69 win came against China and is coming off their most recent 115-83 loss against Serbia, where the team shot 46.2%, including 39.4% from 3-point range.

However, they allowed their opponent to shoot 61.8%, including 53.1% from 3-point range.

The Philippines is coming off a tough loss against Italy with a score of 90-83. Against Italy, the team shot 46.2%, including 34.5% from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Italy shot 45.3%, including 41.5% from 3-point range.

South Sudan vs Philippines game preview

Despite their record, South Sudan still has a chance to advance to the second round of the competition.

Carlik Jones leads the team in scoring with an average of 19.7 points per game, alongside their centre, Khaman Maluach.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is in the classification round for places 17-32, whether they win or lose. This round establishes the final ranking of the FIBA World Cup 2023. The ranking will be the basis of the qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Jordan Clarkson is their leading scorer at 24.0 ppg, alongside veteran big man June Mar Fajardo.