Oct 20, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — South Sudan is set to play in a three-nation invitational tournament against Cape Verde and Chad which will be played from October 22-24 in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.
The team is hoping to redeem itself in Yaounde after missing out at an initial shot at reaching the qualifying event for the 2021 continental bonanza during the Pre-Qualifiers in January.
South Sudan Basketball coach Luol Deng said that they want to make things right.
“We want to make things right. In the last tournament we believe we played very well but Kenya were better than us and they made it through to the next round.” ,” coach Luol Deng told FIBA.
According to the former NBA supperstatr, the team’s locally based players have been gearing up for a month in South Sudan’s capital Juba.
He believes the arrival of the side’s foreign cast will provide ammunition to the South Sudanese as they look forward to edging Cape Verde and Chad.
“Now we have another opportunity and we’re hoping to take advantage of that and get to the next round,” Deng said.
Deng said that the team consists of players from all around the world who have been trying to concentrate on themselves.
He added that the team has been working with one ambition of winning.
According to Deng, the team has got one goal which is winning the invitational tournament and he believes that’s a good thing heading into the competition.
“The players see this as an opportunity to do something special for themselves and for the country.” He said
However, Deng noted that there is talent within Cape Verde and Chad squads and to him that is fascinating.
“We really don’t know the rosters from the other teams but they are very good sides,” said Deng.
“They have a lot of good players and whoever they’re bringing to the court will be an amazing side to play.”
South Sudan will be matching up Cape Verde and Chad in this invitational tournament and the winner of the tournament will complete Group E of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers, which consists of Morocco, Egypt and Uganda.
