Tereza Jeremiah
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A former press secretary in the office of Vice President Taban Deng leaped to the defence of the South Sudanese-born Australian basketballer, Duop Reath, after he came under criticism for not playing for South Sudan.
Duop played against South Sudan in a recent basketball friendly match where Australia beat the South Sudan team by 88:61 points in Melbourne, sparking an outburst back home.
But according to Agel Machar, the former VP aide, the achievement of Duop worth the applause, for there are many South Sudanese youth who end up wasted in drugs after staying in Australia without doing something meaningful.
Machar said Australia came for Duop before the South Sudan basketball team was organized.
“If the basketball team led by Luol Deng was in place in 2019, Duop would be playing for South Sudan today,” he said.
Agel added that by the time South Sudan Basketball wrote the letters to recruit its members, Duop was already playing for Australia.
“South Sudan did not refuse to get him, but by the time South Sudan was organized writing letters, Australia had already taken him, and by FIBA rule, you cannot write to someone who is already engaged.”
He added, “He loves South Sudan, and there is no doubt about that. If he had a chance to play he would have played if Luol was there in 2019.”
Duop’s junior season started in 2016, when he joined the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
He appeared in 31 games, including 30 starts, in the Tigers’ 2016–17 season and averaged 12.0 points, with 6.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game during the season.
He was the SEC Player of the Week in the first week. On December 19, 2016, he scored a season-high 23 points against Charleston.
However, on February 4, 2017, he pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds against Texas A&M.
Reath was born in South Sudan, and at the age of 9, he migrated to Perth, Australia together with his parents and six brothers and sisters, due to the civil war.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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