How basketball has healed wounds in South Sudan

JUBA (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - Six years old this July 9, the newest nation in the world, South Sudan, was born out of a fight for dignity and against oppression like many fellow African nations before it.

The conflict and fighting is sadly still ongoing in some parts of the East African nation and many nationals are on the run for freedom. Some have taken refuge in neighboring countries while others have settled in far away lands.

Basketball has helped me a lot in various ways to overcome tough memories.- Chier

For Chier Mathiang Ater Chier and Mathiang Mauot Muo, the USA and Australia respectively have become their new homes away from home, a haven of new opportunities based around a basketball.

Those are the places where they have made new friends, found good standards of living and, most important of all, peace, one so serene that it has made up for all the suffering they have been through.

They have managed to nurture their basketball careers and with that has come fully paid education that would have otherwise cost an arm and a leg to their families.

Chier, who was born in Akot, a small town situated in central South Sudan, is the eldest in a family of 10 children. Therefore, getting an education at the University of Portland in Oregon is a blessing that he has taken with both hands.

                 Chier Mathiang (#15) with Sydney Open men's team in 2014

In an exclusive interview with FIBA.com, Chier said: "Basketball has helped me a lot in various ways to overcome tough memories. I have been to places I never dreamt of going before and I have met great people. I have attained free education which has taken pressure off my parents and I have met people of different cultures and made friendships that go beyond basketball."

Chier and Muo's latest achievement was representing South Sudan at the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Group F Qualifiers in Cairo, Egypt last month - a first for the Bright Stars, as the national basketball team has been nicknamed.

Muo explained his excitement: "It was an honour and privilege to represent South Sudan at the FIBA AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers in Cairo, Egypt. As a basketball player, there is no greater feeling than playing for your country at an international level and especially being part of it in South Sudan’s first appearance. Hearing the South Sudan national anthem play at an international tournament for the first time was a great feeling not only for me and my team but the entire South Sudanese community in Cairo present at the tournament."

Chier added: "When I got an email to represent South Sudan in basketball, I was overwhelmed and did not think twice to sign the paper to represent our nation. Words cannot really explain when I heard the South Sudan national anthem. It was something very special to me because to think of all the hardships we have been through to get our independence, it just says everything and to represent South Sudan for the first time at that level. Being the second youngest on the team to compete for my country was definitely an honour to be part of the evolution."

At 21, Chier did incredibly well for Jerry Steele's side, averaging 18.5 points 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Placed in a tough Group A, South Sudan opened their account with an 87-76 defeat at the hands of hosts Egypt with Chier scoring a team-high 20 points while Atem Kuol Atem Bol grabbed 9 rebounds.

A second straight loss to Rwanda 80-90 put their Semi-Finals qualification hopes into jeopardy but Chier's 22 points were something to write home about.

The Bright Stars bounced back in their Group A game to defeat Kenya 89-84 in a very tightly contested game that saw Muo display his prowess in the paint scoring an incredible game-high 34 points while Ajak Ateng Magot Anok hauled 13 rebounds.

This victory, their first at this level, brought hope to the South Sudanese camp and will forever remain in their memories.

Muo, South Sudan's best performer with averages of 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and his free-throw percentage was worth noting - 92.6 percent.

This has since sent out a message to South Sudan's other rivals that this was the beginning of something fresh, untamed and a growing force that has the potential to dominate not only the region but the continent too.

With in mind the title win at the 2016 World Indigenous Basketball Challenge in July 2016 - where Muo was named Most Valuable Player - South Sudan has shown that the hoops game has the potential to reflect the amount of talent the nation has.

Muo and Chier represent the thousands of South Sudanese players across the world whose lives have been touched by basketball.

FIBA