Weynen Gabriel, South Sudan fail to advance in World Cup; 3 former 'Cats move to 2nd round

Wenyen Gabriel and South Sudan, which entered the 2023 FIBA World Cup ranked as the 62nd-best country, traveled to Asia with hopes of pulling off a Cinderella run. Unfortunately, that’s not how it played out for the former Kentucky Wildcat and his home country, but South Sudan certainly made some noise within the international basketball scene.

South Sudan failed to advance to the second round of the World Cup, losing two of its three pool play games. They first lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Puerto Rico before cruising past China by 20 points but lost a decisive third game to No. 6 Serbia on Wednesday morning, 115-83. South Sudan will now compete in the Classification Round, otherwise known as the “loser’s bracket”, and will take on the Philippines on Thursday morning.

In spite of the disappointing end, Gabriel has played an impactful role for South Sudan. His best performance came against Puerto Rico when he finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks in 32 minutes. However, his playing time dipped in games two and three. Gabriel recorded three points and five rebounds across 21 minutes in the win over China before adding four points, two assists, and two blocks in just 13 minutes against a talented Serbian squad.

Still just 26 years old, Gabriel will certainly be back for South Sudan moving forward. The country continues to expand its basketball network and features plenty of up-and-coming talent. On a professional level, Gabriel is still looking to find an NBA home after spending all of last season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Don’t be shocked if he signs a new deal shortly after his World Cup expedition wraps up.

No shot is safe with Wenyen Gabriel hovering around the rim 🚫#FIBAWC x #WinForSouthSudan 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/Bf1gekw0wJ

— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 30, 2023

SGA, KAT prepare for second-round battles

Although Gabriel won’t be contending for a medal, a few other former Wildcats will have a chance to take the podium. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has Canada in the second round after going 3-0 in group play while Karl-Anthony Towns and Eloy Vargas will take the Dominican Republic into the second round after also finishing 3-0 in the first round.

Starting with Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s arguably the most talented player in this entire event aside from Slovenia’s Luka Doncic. Canada entered the World Cup ranked No. 15 but will be perceived as one of the favorites to medal after an impressive group stage run. Through his first three contests, SGA put up per-game averages of 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in 25.2 minutes. He also shot 54.5 percent overall from the field and went 15-17 (88.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Canada won all three games by an average of 37 points.

Now in the Round of 16, Canada will take on No. 13 Brazil on Friday morning and top-ranked Spain on Sunday morning. The formatting for this part of the World Cup is a bit confusing, but here is how FIBA explains the second round: “All teams carry their First Round records into the Second Round, where they will compete for Quarter-Finals berths, with the two top teams of the four groups qualifying for the Final Phase.”

It’s not too complicated though — just win and you’ll keep playing.

As for the 23rd-ranked Dominican Republic, Towns has been the country’s defacto star and go-to player. Even though he was limited in DR’s third game against Angola with foul trouble, the seven-footer is a massive reason why his team has made it this far. KAT averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27.2 minutes per game in group-stage action. He poured in 26 and 24 points, respectively, in the first two games.

Meanwhile, Vargas has filled in primarily as Towns’ backup at center, averaging 3.7 points and 4.7 rebounds across 11.8 minutes per game.

It won’t be an easy run to make the quarterfinals for the Dominican Republic. They’ll take on a pesky Puerto Rican squad on Friday morning before a tough showdown with Serbia on Sunday morning. But the fact that they’ve made it this far is an impressive achievement nonetheless. The country has just one medal — a bronze in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship — throughout its history. Going deep in the World Cup is no small feat and Towns is a massive reason why.