VOA Africa discusses South Sudan’s ‘Bright Star’ Paris Olympics performance

South Sudan’s men’s national basketball team, affectionately known by its alias, the “Bright Stars,” on Sunday opened their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign with a 90-79 victory over Puerto Rico, making this the first Olympic victory for the East African nation. It was also the third time an African team has won a basketball Olympic game in the tournament’s 130-year-old history.

Saturday’s victory has kept hope alive for African basketball fans who believe that the South Sudanese team has the personnel and talent to make history for the nation by winning an Olympic medal.

Prior to the opening of their Olympics campaign, the Bright Stars played against the U.S. men’s national basketball team who are favorites to win gold at the tournament, due to their star-studded roster which includes Lebron James, the NBA’s highest point scorer of all time.

In their exhibition encounter, the U.S. team nearly lost to the East African team whose members includes Wenyen Gabriel, a decorated South Sudanese American basketball player with NBA experience. The final score was 101-100, after James scored a lay-up in the dying seconds of the game.

The two teams are scheduled to play again on Wednesday in an Olympic group match.

VOA’s Muqbil Yabarow and Mike Hove discuss South Sudan’s roster and their chance of winning an Olympic medal.

#southsudan #brightstar #parisolympics2024 #basketball
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For more than 60-years, VOA's English to Africa (E2A) Service has been providing quality radio, TV, and digital programming to Africa. With a weekly audience of 37-million people, the E2A offers weekly coverage spanning various topics, including hard news, current affairs, sports, entertainment, health, and culture, with special focus on issues concerning youth and women.

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