Wildcard South Sudan Storms into AfroBasket Last Four

(ABIDJAN) – South Sudan’s national women’s basketball team has continued its remarkable journey at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in Abidjan by reaching the semifinals in their tournament debut. The team edged out neighbouring Uganda 69–68 in a dramatic finish, securing a place in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.

Just a day after upsetting Egypt in the Classification Round, South Sudan repeated their heroics against the Uganda Gazelles, a team they had previously lost to twice during the qualifying campaign. Despite entering as underdogs, the Starlets fought back from an early deficit to claim a narrow one point win.

The team had received a wildcard entry into the tournament and initially struggled, losing both Group B games against Mali and Cameroon. However, they revived their campaign in the round of 16, showing resilience and determination that has defined their story so far.

Uganda made a strong start, taking a 15–6 lead within the first five minutes. But South Sudan responded with a quick seven point burst from Delicia Washington and a three-pointer from Nyamer Lual Diew, closing the gap to just two points.

That momentum shift sparked a dominant second quarter where South Sudan made six three-pointers and led 26–15 in that period alone, finishing the first half six points ahead.

One of the key turning points came when Adut Bulgak tied the game at 33 with a three pointer. Diew and Nyamuoch Teny added points soon after, pushing South Sudan to a 39–36 lead. Uganda, meanwhile, suffered a blow when key player Hope Akello was benched after committing three fouls within the first 15 minutes.

South Sudan’s shooting form dipped in the third quarter, giving Uganda the chance to edge ahead 60–59 entering the final quarter. The fourth was a back and forth battle, and with six seconds remaining, Uganda’s Melissa Akullu missed two crucial free throws that could have won them the game.

Delicia Washington emerged as the standout performer, scoring 17 points in nearly 40 minutes on court. Maria Gakdeng contributed a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Rose Macuei also added 12 points and narrowly missed a double-double of her own with eight rebounds.

Uganda’s defeat will be especially painful given their struggles at the free throw line, where they missed 10 of 25 attempts. The shooting statistics showed how closely matched the teams were: both hit seven three-pointers, but South Sudan had better results in the paint and from the bench, outscoring Uganda 38–26 and 21–14 respectively.

South Sudan’s women’s team, known as the Bright Starlets, are now drawing comparisons to their male counterparts, the Bright Stars, who began their international journey in 2021 with a wildcard and have since become a force in African basketball. The men’s team is set to compete in Angola next month in pursuit of their first African title.

Speaking after the win, forward Rose Macuei expressed her joy and disbelief.

“It is an unbelievable feeling. We came into this competition as underdogs, but we gave it our all. We had nothing to lose, just trust each other and hoop. Uganda has a solid team, and we knew it wouldn’t be easy. But dreams really do come true,” she said.