RADES (Tunisia) - In only his second game for the South Sudan national team, Makur Maker made his mark with an outstanding performance, helping the Bright Stars to a 109–79 victory over Cape Verde.
Two months ago, Maker and Ivan Almeida helped Al Ahly Tripoli become the first African team to finish on the podium of the FIBA Continental Cup. However, on Friday, they found themselves on opposite sides of the court.
While Maker came out with a perfect 6-for-6 shooting performance and finished with a game-high 23 points, Almeida's 17 points weren't enough to prevent Cape Verde from suffering their largest ever losing margin in the history of the World Cup African Qualifiers.
Makur set the tone for South Sudan early on and never slowed down.
By the end of the opening quarter, the 210 cm (6 ft 10 in) small forward had already made three out of three shots.
He added three rebounds and one assist, finishing with a game-high efficiency rating of 23.
His inspirational performance saw South Sudan lead by as many as 34 points before settling for a 30-point win.
FIBA