South Sudan fall 60–56 to Cameroon in their last World Cup Qualifier of window one, ending their unbeaten run in Tunisia. The Bright Stars struggled offensively after their Cape Verde blowout as Cameroon’s disciplined defence and clutch fourth-quarter execution sealed a crucial win.
Last Updated on
November 30, 2025
South Sudan's Bright Stars arrived in Tunisia ready to bounce back from their disappointing campaign at the 2025 AfroBasket two months ago, and things were looking good for the (once again) Luol Deng-led squad in Group A until they met Cameroon on the final day of the opening window.
Cameroon, looking to end their window one campaign with a win, after opening the competition on a losing note, won 60-56 to subject the top-ranked Bright Stars to their first loss.
South Sudan's Bright Stars were a shadow of the squad that had rallied for a 109-79 victory over fellow 2023 World Cup African representatives, Cape Verde, in Friday's encounter, converting just 10% from range, a sharp decline from their 51% against the Islanders.
"We knew South Sudan score on translation, catch and shoot threes and on offensive rebounds and so we took that away," Cameroon head coach Aboya offered after the win.
"The first game was a lip and when we showed up in the other matches we showed out. The biggest takeaway, however, has been that we cannot come out flat. We have big ambitions to qualify for the first time and we will be ready in the coming windows."
Although Kur Kuath helped get the game going, the Central Africans went on an 11-2 run, as Jordan Bayehe led with eight points, draining two shots from behind the arc, an advantage that remained as Cameroon fought relentlessly to lead 19-9 after the opening ten minutes.
Bright Stars cut their deficit to six (24-18) off a Lok Wur layup four minutes into the second stanza, and the Cameroonian needed to regroup. Roland Nyama scored five quick points, his trey restoring Cameroon's double-digit lead (29-18) halfway through.
After a quiet minute with a couple of empty possessions on either side, Aristide Mouaha and Jeremiah Hill broke the South Sudanese further with contributions from deep to see Cameroon lead 37-19, as the quarter went on to end 18-15 for a 13-point advantage.
Bright Stars, back for the second half with renewed determination, struggled at the basket in the opening two minutes, but still had a chance to recover, as the basket wasn't falling for Cameroon either.
An 8-2 run in the next two for 40-32 sent Cameroon into panic mode, necessitating a timeout. Regardless, South Sudan dominated 7-3 to make it a four-point game. Landry Nnoko's buzzer-beating jump shot, off a Hill assist, saw the game head to the final stanza with Cameroon leading 45-39.
Cameroon were standing on shaky ground, one held together by just six points against a side capable of scoring from all three levels. It was no surprise that the Aboya-coached team scored seven, with Bayehe dropping five, in the opening two minutes to pull away.
In the last five minutes, however, Bright Stars came alive, Kuany Atem Kuany and Deng Acuoth scoring five and four respectively for 57-54 with just over a minute to play. Hill's third trey of the game had kept the Cameroonians ahead, and he again came to his side's rescue, picking a crucial defensive rebound and drawing a foul where he converted for 59-54.
The last 12 seconds saw Bright Stars push to force overtime or even steal a win, but it was never to be, as they went down by four points late in the game.
"Cameroon did well to disrupt our offense.I think defensively we did well. Against a team scoring 60 points, most of the time I expect us to win. We were putting stops but we couldn't get it going offensively all night.
Credits to Cameroon for the great defense. 3-0 would have been amazing but going 2-1 is an opportunity for us to learn about this group of players and I am proud of them. I think highly of them and I don't take the loss as anything negative.
Being on this stage is not easy and this loss was a wake up call as to what this grinding basketball is, especially for our newcomers. We are, however, in a good place with nine matches to go, and we will keep getting better," said Bright Stars' head coach Deng.
[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]
