Array
They fought against all odds, overcoming even obstacles beyond the basketball court. They became a unifying symbol of hope for a divided country. And now, they’re going to the Olympics.
Theirs is the story Gilas Pilipinas had hoped to write.
Carlik Jones and his South Sudan teammates dominated Angola on Saturday, 101-78, and won a prize cherished by teams in the Fiba World Cup that had no business nursing championship hopes: an outright ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I’m so glad we got it done. We knew after we won the first game that we had a really good chance to qualify [for the Olympics] and we kind of just locked in on what we needed to do and I’m glad we got it done,” said Jones. “It’s a blessing, you know, to play in my first World Cup games and to walk out in the history [books] is unbelievable.”
Perhaps Jones was talking about his accomplishments when he spoke of leaving the tournament as part of basketball lore. Two days ago, he was a rebound shy of becoming the first player to tally a triple-double in the World Cup. On Saturday, Jones poured in 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out 15 assists to tie the record for most assists in a single game, which Croatia’s Toni Kukoc set in the 1994 World Cup.
The reigning NBA G-League Most Valuable Player also became the first player in the World Cup to tally at least 10 assists in three different games.
“Unbelievable, on both ends. I didn’t know I had 15 assists, that’s crazy. But you know, it’s mostly about the team, man,” Jones said.
Most likely, though, he was talking about South Sudan’s feat.
