South Sudan stuck to their identity of pace, spacing and outside shooting to beat Guinea 81-71 in the second round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers at Salle Multidisciplinaire de Radès. The Bright Stars opened with 25 points in the first quarter and added 28 in the second to build a commanding halftime lead.
JT Thor, Peter Jok, Carlik Jones and Lok Wur all converted open looks from the perimeter, while Nuni Omoti, Wanyen Gabriel and Majok Deng attacked the paint and forced Abdoulaye Sy into early foul trouble. South Sudan's aggressive defence limited Guinea to 21.05 percent shooting from the field in the first half and 3-of-18 from three-point range.
Guinea switched to a zone defence after the break and outscored South Sudan for much of the second half, cutting the deficit to four points in the fourth quarter. Jones, who finished with a team-high 18 points, steadied the Bright Stars down the stretch to seal the win.
"We played a little flat in the second half. The fact that the coach played zone the whole second half is testament to my players because when they played man, they couldn't guard us," South Sudan coach Royal Ivey said. Guinea coach Corey Alan Frazier acknowledged the gamble of trying to run with South Sudan. South Sudan improved to 5-2 while Guinea fell to 4-3.
