South Sudan earns Olympic berth as top African team at FIBA World Cup - ESPN

MANILA, Philippines — In an indelible moment of this FIBA World Cup, South Sudan earned the nation's first Olympic berth in any sport Saturday and did so with a team filled with refugees and the children of refugees from the war-torn nation.

The Bright Stars, as they are known, won the bid allotted for Africa with a 101-78 victory over Angola, triggering tears and hugs from players as several dozen fans waved the young country's flag.

They won the prize with a 3-2 record in Manila to outlast all other African teams just three years after former NBA All-Star Luol Deng took over the program, which he has largely funded personally and filled by recruiting players with South Sudanese heritage.

«It's an unbelievable story. It's an underdog story that, not just for the South Sudanese, not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world,» Deng said as he fought off tears. «It's a feel-good story that majority of people can relate to. It's such a unique achievement because it's beyond basketball.»

Japan also joined the Olympic field Saturday as the highest-ranked World Cup team from Asia, clinching its bid with an 80-71 win over Cape Verde.

Three summers ago, Deng tapped former NBA player and longtime friend Royal Ivey to be the team's head coach. Ivey, an assistant with the Houston Rockets, started practices on concrete floors and outdoor courts that were sometimes flooded.

The team practiced and played in places from Kenya to Tunisia to Australia to earn World Cup qualification for the first time and open the door for the achievement.

«It's been a humbling journey. I had heartaches, I have a lot of ebbs and flows, and it's a great feeling right now,» said Ivey, a 10-year NBA veteran who mentored Deng when he came to the same