Was this the mindset of the Korean national basketball team that participated in the 1948 London Olympics? This newly-developed country that has been independent for 13 years does not have a proper gym in the entire country. However, the athletes did not feel intimidated even when they first stepped on the Olympic stage. They created a miracle by showing their eagerness to make their country known to the world. They beat Puerto Rico, ranked 16th in the world, in the first round of the group league last month, becoming a dark horse from the weakest. This is the story of the South Sudanese men’s basketball team, which is also called the “Bright Stars.”
LeBron James (LA Lakers) and Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) received the biggest cheers at the second round of men’s basketball Group C at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at Pierre-Maurua Stadium in Villeneuve-Dask, northern France, on Sunday (local time). When South Sudanese players entered the court, spectators shouted in loud cheers. Was it because of their cheers? At the match, South Sudanese players persistently pressured the U.S., the world’s strongest team. They pushed the U.S. with high speed in the early stages of the game. They trailed the U.S. by 21 points in the first half, but trailed closely to narrow the gap to 12 points in the fourth quarter. The final score was 103 to 86, as expected, the “Dream Team” U.S. won. Immediately after the game, however, foreign media praised the team, saying it lost but did not break. Stephen Curry also said, “I respect South Sudanese players,” adding, “I am always rooting for South Sudan except when playing against us.”
South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world. The background of the documentary film “Don’t Cry, Tones,” which depicts the achievements of the late Father Lee Tae-seok, is South Sudan. Most of South Sudan’s men’s basketball team players were born either in refugee camps or overseas. It was Luol Deng, an NBA player from South Sudan who was scattered around the world as refugees including Australia, China, and the U.S. who became president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation in 2019, and recruited national team players around the world.
They were able to train together for only a few weeks during the year. However, they have grown at an alarming rate thanks to their “big stature.” The Dinka tribe, which accounts for the majority of South Sudanese citizens, is known to have the tallest men’s average height (1m90 centimeters for men and 1m80 centimeters for women) in the world. The South Sudanese men’s basketball team won the right to participate in the Paris Olympics by defeating the Philippines and Angola at the World Basketball World Cup last year. In a practice match against the U.S. held on April 20, right before the opening of the Olympics, the team lost by a single point with a score difference of 100 to 101. “South Sudan almost pushed the U.S. to the brink of a practice match,” the Associated Press said. “The U.S. team has awakened the U.S. team that is aiming for its fifth consecutive victory in the Olympics.” Even U.S. basketball fans praised the team, saying, “I was impressed by the South Sudanese players’ performance,” and “The U.S. players play with their bodies, but they play with their hearts.”
On the first Olympic stage, South Sudanese athletes were determined. For the people suffering from civil war and poverty, their existence is a “hope.” “The whole nation stops to watch our game,” Majok Deng said. “Even if the electricity is cut, people gather in groups to watch the game somehow.” Bulkköl said, “A group of war-weary boys enjoy joy and peace watching our game. (The people’s joy) is a lot bigger to us than basketball.” South Sudan will play its last group match against Serbia on the 4th. The result of the match is expected to determine whether they will advance to the quarterfinals or not.토토사이트
The South Sudanese basketball team’s ties with South Korea also affected its participation in the Paris Olympics. With the creation of the South Sudanese Olympic Committee (SSOC), led by coach Lim Heung-se, who taught soccer in South Sudan ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics, the nine-sports association, including basketball, was formed as an affiliated organization. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the Korean Basketball Federation (KBL) delivered uniforms collected by each club to the national team, which does not even have basic training equipment such as basketball and uniforms.