Gakdeng Showing Up On World Stage For South Sudan

ABIDJAN, Côte d'Ivoire – Representing South Sudan at the 2025 FIBA Women's AfroBasket hosted by Côte d'Ivoire, Maria Gakdeng helped lead the country's women's team to new heights as the world's newest country came away with a bronze medal at the event for its first on a national stage.

"It's a surreal feeling. It hasn't settled that we made history and made it to this point,' remarked Gakdeng. "I'm just trying to be grateful for the journey and putting South Sudan basketball on the map for the girls back in South Sudan that have dreams to play at a high level."

Gakdeng posted eye-popping statistics throughout the tournament, as South Sudan became the darlings of the week after dropping two games in the Group Phase to then upset Egypt and Uganda en route to the semifinals. Despite falling to Mali in the semifinals, South Sudan responded in the third-place game in a narrow 66-65 victory over Senegal to claim the bronze.

Leading the entire field with an average of 11.7 rebounds per outing, Gakdeng posted three games in double-figure rebounding including a monster performance against Egypt with 24 boards. Tallying three double-doubles over seven games, Gakdeng averaged 10.8 points per game while shooting 64.3% from the field. A defensive force around the rim, Gakdeng also averaged 2.7 rejections per game, and posted eight blocks in the third-place game against Senegal.

With her family from South Sudan, it was always part of Gakdeng's plan to represent her country.

"I was always in contact with the captain, Adut Bulgak," said Gakdeng. "She always expressed how much she wanted me to be part of the team because they were building something special. This was the perfect time for me to join."

Making it to Abidjan off a wild-card, South Sudan now reaps it success as the country advances to the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments in March of 2026. A total of 24 national teams from around the globe will compete in four tournaments, featuring six teams each. The tournaments determine the 16 teams that will compete in the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Germany.

Along with signing a professional contract to play in Hungary with KSC Szekszárd, Gakdeng will continue to represent South Sudan and join them in future World Cup qualifiers as the country hopes to advance to the Worldwide event for the first time.

"One of our team values was pride and legacy," said Gakdeng. "We wanted to do something that hadn't been done and we did."

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Players Mentioned

Maria Gakdeng

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