Australia vs South Sudan Basketball Preview: Prediction, rosters and more for 2023 FIBA World Cup tune-up

Modified Aug 17, 2023 18:49 GMT

Josh Giddey of Australia and Mareng Gatkuoth of South Sudan

Australia host South Sudan on Thursday, Aug. 12, in preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The tune-up game will be held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

The Boomers are coming off an upset 90-86 loss to Brazil on Wednesday. Bruno Caboclo had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Brazil, while Josh Giddey's 20 points and 10 rebounds were not enough for Australia. It was a surprising result, as Australia had thrashed Venezuela in their first tune-up game 97-41 on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Bright Stars have had an impressive first two games in the Boomers vs the World tune-up games. South Sudan put up a valiant effort against Brazil in their 85-75 loss on Monday, while they had a great showing against Venezuela to get a 80-61 win.

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2023 FIBA World Cup tune-up game preview

Australia enter the 2023 FIBA World Cup as the third-best team in the FIBA rankings.

Most of their players are in the NBA or have experience playing in the best league in the world. They also have the advantage of having a physical style of play that's great under FIBA rules.

However, the Boomers looked out of sorts in their loss to Brazil on Wednesday. Brazil's length bothered the usually steady Australians, who were quite poor aat the defensive end, too. They need to find a way to regain some momentum before heading into the World Cup next year.

South Sudan, meanwhile, is just happy to be making some noise ahead of their FIBA World Cup debut. Led by their lone NBA player Wenyen Gabriel, the Bright Stars will look to shine the brightest when the entire world is watching.

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Australia vs South Sudan prediction

The Boomers are the overwhelming favorites to win their FIBA World Cup tune-up game against South Sudan. They're likely to get the win on Thursday, but fans should expect the Bright Stars to put up a fight in the first half before Australia pulls away in the second half.