Luol Deng praises Kuany Kuany's talent and dedication to national team

DAKAR (Senegal) - South Sudan got off to a winning start in their FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers debut after they stunned Rwanda 68-56 in their Group B opener.

South Sudan's captain Kuany Ngor Kuany was in superlative form, scoring a game-best 18 points with two rebounds and three assists.

"I KNOW BASKETBALL AND HE'S ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS I'VE EVER COACHED AND I TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN WATCHING HIM."

The 27-year-old forward was in scintillating fettle. He converted seven of his nine field-goal attempts, sinking three of his five attempts from beyond the arc and picked up two decisive rebounds to keep his side afloat.

Perhaps Kuany's talent was more evident in the fourth quarter when he sunk in two three-pointers to widen the gap with Rwanda.

On one occasion, Kuany was in the corner and had Rwanda's big man Elie Kaje breathing down his neck. The South Sudanese rotated the ball and within a split second, Kuany broke free of his foe, glided to the top of the key just in time to catch the ball and sink in a three-point jump shot with so much ease.

The South Sudanese bench exploded with exhilaration and even their coach, Luol Deng a man accustomed to seeing such wizardry on the court was visibly amazed, betrayed by the grin on his face.

The former Chicago Bulls and NBA All-Star didn't trivialize his captain's heroics.

"I know the Basketball Africa League is coming up and Kuany is playing in Croatia but every time he comes to these competitions he performs for us." South Sudan's coach Luol Deng said in the post-match press conference.

"Kuany leads us, he comes here and does interviews and I think these are the players that we should be bringing back to play at the national team."

"I know basketball and he's one of the best players I've ever coached and I take great pleasure in watching him. I think it's time people start paying attention to him."

But beyond Kuany Ngor's dazzling tricks on the court, South Sudan was buoyed by a strong bench that contributed 19 points as they out-rebounded Rwanda 41-34.

"We have great options on the bench and a lot of players committed to building this program with us. It's our first time participating in this tournament and we're also learning but we're always going to play hard."

Kuany despite garnering attraction and praises would rather focus on the team's efforts as well as turn his mind to the games against Cameroon and Tunisia.

"It's our first time here and every team in this competition is here for a reason. In the first half, we weren't very good but in the second half we came in strong and we were able to get a win.

"Our defense is solid even though I feel we started more relaxed and then later we started playing together, getting Rwanda to make fouls then make those steals and get the points we needed."

 "We're going up against the defending African champions Tunisia, a very experienced team but we have to go back and watch the tapes and listen to what our coaches have planned for us."

"We're here to prove we're good and we have to go out there and execute the process as well as trust the plans our coaches have for us."

South Sudan go up against African champions Tunisia on Saturday with Rwanda facing Cameroon in their second game.

FIBA