MANILA, Philippines – While playing in the Philippines where basketball has caused division, South Sudan uses its own FIBA World Cup campaign to bring its people together.

The Bright Stars have captivated their fans back home in their first-ever World Cup appearance following a pair of gutsy performances that exceeded their lowly world No. 62 ranking.

Bunched in Group B, South Sudan fell in overtime to No. 20 Puerto Rico in its World Cup debut before it broke through by thrashing No. 27 China – a victory celebrated by the 12-year-old nation, the youngest in the world.

“I think for us as a country, the reason why this is so important and means a lot is cause we have so much division, a lot of trouble, a lot of conflict going on in our country,” said Kuany Kuany.

“Whenever the basketball team plays, it is literally the one time when everybody comes together. There are no more tribes, no more, ‘I’m from so-and-so region.’ Everyone is wearing the same flag and that is South Sudan.”

The same, though, could not be said about World Cup co-host Philippines.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes and some of the players have bore the brunt of fervent fan criticism that stems from frustration following a winless run in Group A that relegated the Filipinos to the classification phase.

Reyes got booed by the home crowd during the team introductions of their 90-83 loss to Italy on Tuesday, August 29 – a defeat that made the Philippines the first host to lose its first three games since Colombia in 1982.

It was an incident that Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Jordan Clarkson described as “weird” and “out of the ordinary.”

For South Sudan, the Bright Stars are a beacon of harmony and oneness.

“That is what this basketball team stands for – it stands for unity, for peace, and development in the country, and just a way to change the narrative,” said Kuany.

“For us, that is why it is so much bigger than basketball and we’re going to continue to do our best and use that as a tool to promote the image of our country.”

Although South Sudan lost its final group stage game against Serbia and fell to 1-2, it remains in the running for a historic Olympic berth as the highest-placed African nation earns an automatic ticket to the Paris Games.

“Through basketball, we use that vessel for peace and changing the narrative in the country. Everybody is watching us, so they come together, they unite,” said Bright Stars head coach Royal Ivey.

“And through basketball, we share the vision of camaraderie, friendship, love, sportsmanship, togetherness, and that is what my players emulate everyday when they step out on the court.” – Rappler.com