The South Sudanese basketball community loses former national team player, Dominic Philip; another South Sudan player leads Duke to their first ACC Championship since 2006, and Nairobi City Thunder beef up ahead of BAL Season 5. All the latest in African basketball news, from African basketball commentator and bird contributor, Silalei Shani.
by Silalei Shani
Former South Sudanese national team player, Dominik Philip passed away earlier this month at the age of 29. Philip, who was based in the USA at the time of his demise played four games for Bright Stars of South Sudan in the 2021 Afrobasket Pre-Qualifiers Zone 5 competition in January 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya, averaging 6.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
The 6’2 guard played college basketball for the Southwestern Christian University Eagles in Division One of the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) and graduated in 2020. Last year, Dominik played for the Midtown Prestige in US-based “The Basketball Tournament”.
A natural leader, Philip leaves an indelible mark on the South Sudanese basketball community, which poured in tributes via social media. Although, details surrounding the passing of the point guard have not been released, former NBA All-Star and president of the national federation, Luol Deng released a statement via Instagram:
“My brother, Dominik Philip, may your soul rest in peace. My heartfelt condolences go out to your family, friends, and loved ones. I am in disbelief and heartbroken over this tragic news. Dominik, thank you for being a kind soul and a caring friend to me and my family.”
South Sudanese fans will take some relief from the bad news thanks to the performance of another South Sudan player in the US National College (NCAA) Division One men’s league.
South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach has been a huge contributor to Duke, which took home its 23rd ACC Tournament against No. 13, Louisville. It was Duke’s first time winning the competition since 2006.
Maluach collected a game-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and rejected two shot attempts.
The freshman center averaged 11.7 points, 9.3 boards and 2.7 blocks per game during the ACC Tournament, earning him All-Touranment First Team honors.
“We just came out and played Duke defense. We went into the locker room at halftime. We regrouped together, and we came back out, and we knew we had to get stops and rebounds, and that’s what we did,” Maluach passionately shared after the game.
At just 17 years old, Maluach competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics for his home country, making him the youngest basketball player competing at the games. Never wavering in the big moments, he boasts an impressive CV and has taken the college basketball world by storm.
In BAL news, Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder, a first time participant of the Basketball Africa League, has beefed up its squad ahead of the tournament, with some solid international signings. They include William Sidney Davis II, Nana Kwabena Appiah, Uchenna Iroegbu and most recently Paul Ereng. With ten years of experience, including with the NBA G-League, Greece, Romania and Cyprus, Will Davis II joins the Kenyan champions from Spartans Distrito Capital in Venezuela and will be the most experienced player in the team.
“We have collected a really high level of talent, with players willing to honour the contributions of their teammates…We are looking for high character players who are willing to come in and work had, compete and encourage each other to get better. Most importantly, we are looking for players with a high skill level who can pass and shoot,” explained Thunder head coach, Brad Ibs.
Thunder will compete in the BAL’s Nile Conference scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from May 17-25. They will be facing Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya, Rwanda’s Armee Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball (APR) and Made by Basketball (MBB) of South Africa, also newcomers to the BAL.
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