Nuni Omot got emotional after reaching the Olympics with South Sudan

By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net

MANILA, Philippines – South Sudan wrote history in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time ever after beating Angola 101-78.

Concluding an outstanding run with the South Sudanese national team, Nuni Omot stopped by in the mixed zone after providing 17 points with 8/9 at the charity stripe for Royal Ivey’s squad, commenting with touching words the unexpected landing of this squad on the Olympic stage.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s a dream come true”, he first said about their feat. “We became an independent country in 2011, everything that’s happened in the last couple of years… nobody ever imagined or dreamed of being in this position”, he said underlining how difficult it was for South Sudan.

“Now we’re gonna have the chance to walk across the Olympic stage with our flag. Everything that’s happened has been a dream come true and I can’t thank my teammates, the fans, and everybody that’s been supporting us enough. Obviously, this is one of the most… I’m so emotional right now. It’s one of the best stories, sports stories, that’s come out in a long time. I’m just very blessed to be a part of this”, the 28-year-old forward added.

South Sudan 2023 FIBA World Cup’s path to the Olympic Games started with a loss against Puerto Rico, but they bounced back. “Honestly, I couldn’t sleep after the Puerto Rico game, because I knew that was our game. We were up 10 going into the fourth quarter, up 7 with three minutes left, but obviously, God gave us a different route to get it. We didn’t get to the second round of the World Cup, and right now we’re just trying to show the future of South Sudan basketball. It’s gonna be very exciting in the future for people to see, people gotta keep their eye out because there’s a lot of talent coming out of there”, he also said.

This game got Nuni Omot emotional, who had nothing but amazing words for all his people. “It’s one of the best sports stories to ever come out. People don’t understand where we were a couple of years ago, we came from playing zone five, playing outside on outdoor courts. We don’t have a single indoor basketball court in South Sudan, everything is outdoors. One rim is higher than the others, there’s no official ten-foot regulation hoop”, he said.

“To be in this position is a blessing. We have the talent, we have players and Luol Deng; shout out to him, he’s envisioned this since he’s been in the NBA. Obviously, he wasn’t able to play for South Sudan, he played for Britain but this is unbelievable. I can’t believe that we’re in this situation”, he went on praising the President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation Luol Deng.

Finally, he talked about Carlik Jones, who equaled the record for the most assists served in a FIBA World Cup game with 16. “Everyone can see: Carlik is a hell of a player. If he doesn’t sign a multi-year contract after this, I don’t know what to say. Politics plays a part in this, but his game speaks for itself, and he’s an even better person. His game is phenomenal, but he as a person is even better. Great locker room guy, for him to come and play with us on such short notice. For him to get along with everybody, to mode and fit, our system and what we wanted to do, it’s phenomenal”, Nuni Omot added about South Sudan’s playmaker.