South Sudan impressed in the first leg of the second window of the Basketball World Cup 2023 qualifiers, thanks in large part to their talented players, most of whom were born abroad, but above all their metronome Anyiarbany Makoi alias ” Jackson Makoi “. The 21-year-old point guard from Vrijednosnice Osijek, Croatia, was voted MVP for the second window of Worlds qualifying. He propelled his country to the top of Group B ahead of Tunisia, Cameroon and Rwanda.
At only 21 years old, Jackson Makoi shakes the great nations of African basketball. Born in Egypt and raised in Australia, the young player established himself as the new sensation of continental basketball with South Sudan, during the first leg of the second window of the bBasket 2023 World Cup qualifiers. , before the tournament, his team was considered the ” little thumb ” from group B, she has taken the lead throughout her career. This is evidenced by the victories garnered by the South Sudanese players who managed to surprise Tunisia, reigning African champions, Cameroon and Rwanda.
On his own, the leader of Vrijednosnice Osijek has achieved the feat of taming the “ferocious” Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, during their last group match, by slamming 25 points. With unparalleled dexterity, Jackson Makoi converted 10 of his 12 field shots, putting all the spotlight on himself. That’s not all, since the young basketball player was able to get a 4/6 on free throws. Unstoppable and insatiable, the South Sudanese athlete also bagged 7 rebounds to put his team in an ideal situation, allowing them to calmly and confidently approach the third window of the Basketball World Cup qualifiers, in June- July.
Having helped his team a lot to win their three games in this second window, Anyiarbany Makoi let his joy burst at the end of the competition, insisting that “our 3-0 record simply proves that we deserve our place here. As the youngest nation in the world, people tend to underestimate us. We just wanted to show what we are capable of. As long as we apply the guidelines and stay united, we can compete with everyone… There are no words to describe what we are accomplishing for our country, which has been through so much,” said Anyiarbany makoi,
The icing on the cake, Anyiarbany Makoi was elected MVP (Most Valuable Player), ahead of the tenors of the African continent such as Makrem Ben Romdhane, Omar Abada (Tunisia) or Youssoupha Ndoye (Senegal). An exceptional performance for this young player, standing on 1m96, who signed his first professional contract in September 2021, under the colors of the Croatian formation of Vrijednosnice Osijek. He had also taken part in the last Afrobasket with the South Sudanese national team. Again, he did not disappoint, since he ended up with an average of 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game. He had thus helped his country to reach the quarter-finals.
To read : World Basketball 2023 (E): South Sudan received 3 out of 3
