Mareng Gatkuoth
Mareng Gatkuoth of Anchorage keyed a third-quarter run that carried South Sudan to a 75-61 victory over Tunisia at the FIBA World Cup African Nations qualifying tournament.
Gatkuoth had a hand in eight points in the third quarter when South Sudan outscored the reigning Africa champions 24-15 to take control.
He finished the game with 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range, coming off the bench to play 15 minutes. He added one rebound and two assists.
Gatkuoth assisted on a bucket early in the third quarter and later knocked down back-to-back 3s, including one that beat the shot clock and extended South Sudan’s lead to 55-45.
Another BIG👌🏿 @g_mareng
0.28 secs left in 3Q | 🇸🇸 55 🇹🇳 45📺 LIVE NOW: https://t.co/pMtdJq2cBw#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/aHf52GTFsR
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 2, 2022
Gatkuoth, of ACS fame, hit his fourth 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, making the score 60-51.
His lights-out perimeter performance was a far cry from yesterday when he went 0-for-4 from the field and missed both free throws.
It was a nice bounce back.
As one of seven players to log 15 minute or more, Gatkuoth is in the rotation and his teammates looked for him in the second half.
The 6-foot-5 Alaskan knocked down a trio of 3s in a five-minute span, the final long-range bomb coming from 25 feet away with a hand in his face.
Again it’s @g_mareng 👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿
8.34 left in 4Q | 🇸🇸 60 🇹🇳 51📺 LIVE NOW: https://t.co/pMtdJq2cBw#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/nsk8JkNQEG
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 2, 2022
The three-day FIBA World Cup African Nations qualifying tournament continues through the weekend and is the second of three stages, with teams vying for spots in the decisive third round.
South Sudan will face Cameroon on Sunday.
After going 3-0 in the first round in Senegal, the team has started 1-0 in the second round in Rwanda.
The South Sudanese are 5-0 in qualifying after going 3-0 the first round in Senegal and starting 2-0 in the second round in Rwanda.
Gatkuoth is averaging 7.6 points in five games, buoyed by 12-of-24 shooting from 3-point land.
Anchorage’s Mareng Gatkuoth has made 12-of-24 3-pointers in five games at the FIBA World Cup African Nations qualifying tournament. Photo by FIBA