DAKAR (Senegal) - What a difference five months make for South Sudan.

Back in September, Tunisia trounced South Sudan, 80-65, in the 2021 AfroBasket Quarter-Finals on the way to their third African title. Fast forward to Saturday, February 26, and South Sudan shock the African champions Tunisia, 72-64, on Day 2 in Group B of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers in Dakar.

The World Cup African Qualifiers debutant's win ends Tunisia's winning streak on the continent of Africa, which lasted since February 2020 during the 2021 AfroBasket Qualifiers.

Turning point: After Nuni Omot's three-pointer with 4:42 minutes left in the opening quarter that gave South Sudan a 12-10 lead, they took control of the game. As much as Tunisia tried to come back in the game, South Sudan never trailed again. 

Tunisia had been in difficult situations before in African basketball tournaments.

Remember when they trailed by 18 against Egypt at 2021 AfroBasket, and managed to turn things around in the last two minutes? They almost did it again. After trailing 68-57 with 2:43 minutes left, Tunisia outscored South Sudan 7-4, but the South Sudanese closed the game out by taking as much time as possible from the shot and contest every one of Tunisia's possession.

Game hero(es): Nuni Omot, Deng Acuoth, Anyiarbany Makoi and Mareng Gatkuoth all scored in double digits combining for 54 South Sudan points, but Gatkuoth was off the charts. The 22-year-old guard made 4 of his 5 three-points attempts to spark South Sudan when they needed him most.

Stats don't lie: South Sudan stepped on the court knowing that beating Tunisia would require a tremendous team effort, and they played as unit, which allowed them to lead in all but 24 seconds of the game. 

After scoring just 55 points in Friday's triumph over Cameroon, Tunisia struggled to create open shots, mainly due to South Sudan's aggressive defense game.

Bottom line: Tunisia may be excused for playing their second game in less than 24 hours, but alarms are starting to ring in Tunis as the African champions looked apathetic as never seen before.  

It's a major morale booster for South Sudan, a team that continues to make strides in the African basketball scene. If they beat DR Congo on Sunday, they will have a good chance to progress to the Second Round of the African Qualifiers, and become a contender for one of the tickets to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. 

What they said: "[Coming to the African Qualifiers] we had the confidence that we could beat anybody. Coach did a great job in scouting them. We knew what we had to do in order to win. The other things were our length, speed and athleticism. We used that to our advantage and we came out with the victory." - Nuni Omot

"We played late last night, finished and competed at 9pm against a team that played the previous day at 3pm. South Sudan are a good team, they played well today. They executed properly and they played with a lot of intensity. What Luol Deng is doing with them is wonderful. They have a lot of potential and I see them achieving something significant in the future."

"It's the first time we are losing a game in 3 years. These things happen. It's basketball but I wouldn't focus on it. We have a game against a good Rwandan side tomorrow so we have to prepare that one better and get another win." - Tunisia head coach Dirk Bauermann.

FIBA