Congo Ends South Sudan’s AfroBasket Streak in Overtime Thriller, Shocking the Olympic Heroes

Congo Ends South Sudan’s AfroBasket Streak in Overtime Thriller, Shocking the Olympic Heroes

Both teams came into this matchup looking to claim Group A and remain undefeated. South Sudan, who are Africa’s number one, last lost a game in August 2022. They have obliterated every team they have faced in this AfroBasket window in Dakar. On the other hand, Congo has only just beaten its opponents. South Sudan were armed with a dynamic lineup, and the Congolese knew their work was cut out for them.

They were also aware of the toll their bodies had taken in the back-to-back games before this, and now, playing their third game in as many days as possible against the number one team would be a tall order. Nevertheless, the Leopards embraced the challenge and took it to the South Sudanese. The South Sudanese took a commanding lead in the first quarter at 21-15 and looked set for another victory. Wenyen Gabriel, former Los Angeles Laker, was dominating on the boards and got all sorts of open looks as a result of good ball movement.

DR Congo's Head Coach, Michel Perrin, went to his bench, who has been reliable. The aim was to play physical and deny the South Sudanese open shots from beyond the arc. This approach paid dividends yet again as the defence executed their role, and this fueled the Congolese side behind captain Rolly Fula, who had 10 points at the half. Jordan Sakho, who has been consistent in the competition, continued down this path with his 8 points at the half and a crucial block to inspire his side.

However, Wenyen Gabriel continued on his scoring run and had 15 points in the quarter. This would not deter the Congolese side as they took the lead at the half after a 21-14 quarter. They went into the half with a score of 35-36 in favour of the Congolese. 

The third quarter started with Jordan Sakho extending the Congolese lead after he converted a turn-around jump shot. The Congolese went up by five before Nuni Omot converted two free throws to bring it back to within one possession. The two sides continued to trade baskets until Garmine Kande converted a three-pointer to give the Leopards a 4-point lead.

There was some theatrics at the end of the third quarter when Omot committed an offensive foul, and the South Sudanese bench did not well receive that in their discontent; the officials took it as dissent and issued a technical foul against the coach, Luol Deng. Patrick Mwamba converted the free-throw. This free-throw gave the Congolese a 4-point lead in the third quarter at 52-48.

With such a slight separation between the two teams, the fourth quarter was sure to be electric and electric it was. The Congolese opened the scoring this quarter, and the game went quiet, with no point for two minutes before Wenyen Gabriel scored for the South Sudanese side.

After an excellent defensive display, the Congolese captain, Rolly Fula, converted a three-point shot that gave the Congolese their most significant lead in the game at 57-50. They seemed to have found the winning formula, but their opponents were just as resilient and tied the game at 58 apiece with just under 5 minutes to go.

Then Jackson Makoi got a defensive rebound and went coast to coast to convert a lay-up that gave the South Sudanese men a lead for the first time since the second quarter. Jordan Sakho, who has been a standout player for this Congolese side, went on a 5-point run and gave his side a 2-point lead with the score at 64-62 and only 15 seconds left in the game.

The South Sudanese responded with a well-executed play from the timeout, leading to a Junior Madut shot that tied the game. The Congolese missed the shot to give them the victory at the end of regulation, but this game kept giving, and the neighbouring countries went into overtime.

South Sudan opened the proceedings with a free-throw from Junior Madut and a mid-range jump shot by Jackson Makoi. The two teams traded baskets until Rolly Fula converted a deep 3 to give the Congolese the lead at 71-69 with just two and a half minutes to go.

From then on, it was all Congo as they upped the ante defensively and ensured the South Sudanese did not record a single point for the remainder of the game whilst maintaining their composure and structure to win 76-69.

The Congolese leave Dakar undefeated and will look forward to the final qualification window in February. The point guard, Christian Lutete, had the following to say about his team:

We have a really great team, and we did it as a team and stuck together. We’re just happy for this win. We did it for our country and we’re just super happy… just winning the game against a great team, we don’t take that lightly.

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[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]