South Sudan Stars ready to shine Bright

When Adelaide 36ers star Sunday Dech runs onto the court at the Paris Olympics, he and his 11 teammates will be making history.

It will be the first time in South Sudan’s somewhat short, but proud presence on the international basketball stage that they’ve lined up at the Olympics, just a year after the country’s FIBA World Cup debut. 

For a nation that’s basketball federation was only formed when it became an independent state in 2011, it’s been an incredible rise. 

“This will be something special, from where South Sudan has come from, this is a huge moment in our journey,” Dech told the 36ers’ website. 

The 30-year-old says it will be a surreal experience representing his country at the Olympics, but the Bright Stars aren’t just here to make up the numbers.

It was only last weekend they ran Team USA to within a point of a famous victory, which will give them plenty of confidence leading into Paris. 

South Sudan has a chance to get revenge on the highly-fancied USA on August 1 in Group C, surrounded by games against Puerto Rico and Serbia.

While Australia’s section has been labelled by many as the “pool of death”, Dech says that title should be saved for the Bright Stars' group.

“We have got the pool of death, we got USA and Serbia, but it’s an opportunity,” he said. 

“The USA have put together the best team they’ve had for a very long time and Serbia have the best player in the world in (Nikola) Jokic.

“It’s something you can look back on in like 5-10 years and say ‘we played against them’, it’s going to be a really cool experience.

“We are making history as a country, we are there (at the Olympics) and we get to go up against the best players in the world.”

Dech is one of four NBL stars in action for the South Sudan team, alongside Sydney’s Bul Kuol, Cairns’ Jackson Makoi and Tasmania’s Majok Deng.

Their Olympic campaign will tip off on Sunday, July 28 against Puerto Rico, with tip-off at 7pm AEST.

Read the full story >> Paris dreams now reality for Dech