Juba, South Sudan,
29 May 2021 – A female South Sudanese basketball star Adut Bulgak is itching to represent the country in the upcoming AfroBasket qualifiers scheduled for July in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
This comes after the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) announced in March that the senior women’s team has been allowed to compete in the Zone 5 AfroBasket qualifiers 2021.
Ms. Bulgak is the first South Sudanese woman to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to represent the country after being categorized as a first-round pick, 12th overall in 2016.
In a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, Bulgak said she will represent South Sudan in the Zone 5 Afrobasket qualifiers 2021, a phenomenon which she described as a dream come true.
“I used to play for Team Canada, for their national team but this has been one of my lifelong dreams; to be able to represent South Sudan,” Bulak said.
She said even though they are starting from scratch, she said the team is undeterred and will do everything within their capability to raise the flag of the country high.
“I want to be able to represent my country and I want to be able to inspire younger girls to chase their dreams as well. This is something that I have wanted for a very long time, I have been talking about it since 2015, 2016 and for me, this is like a dream come true to play for my country,” added Bulgak.
The former WNBA star who played for New York Liberty and Chicago Sky also revealed that she has signed up with Leganes in Spain and will join her new team in September.
South Sudan is strengthening the Women’s basketball team in a bid to prepare for the upcoming qualification matches.
In early May, the country hired Lindsey Harding, a professional basketball female coach who worked for NBA and won many individual accolades in the profession.
In an interview with the BBC, Ms. Harding said she will recall all the South Sudanese female basketball stars around the world to come home and prepare for the much-anticipated tournament.
“There is a lot of South Sudanese talent around the world. We are working hard to bring them all together. I am extremely excited. I’m looking forward to getting the team together for a training camp,” Harding was quoted by the BBC to have said.
The AfroBasket qualifiers are scheduled for July 5 through July 10 this year in Cairo, Egypt.
