Two Ballarat Miners players have showcased themselves on the national stage.
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Deng Acuoth and Kuany Kuany, both of whom signed with the Miners for the 2020 season, represented the South Sudanese national team at the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in Rwanda.
The team was added to the tournament as a last-minute replacement and, despite limited preparation, completed the initial round of group phase games with an impressive 2-1 record.
The squad, which was coached by two-time NBA All-Star Luol Deng, lost their initial game to top-ranked Nigeria but bounced back to defeat both Mali and host country Rwanda.
The results placed South Sudan on the cusp of securing a historic first-ever qualification to AfroBasket, to be held next year.
"Those two wins were huge," Acouth told media.
"It means a lot to us (but) we're not going to look forward too much. We've still got three more games to go in this group so we're not looking at the big tournament yet."
