MANILA, Philippines (AP) — It was a chant that Luol Deng waited years to lead.
He stood along the side of the South Sudan locker room after their run in the World Cup was over, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the same thing, over and over.Deng's vision when he founded the national team about a decade ago was to use basketball as a beacon of hope for his homeland. And his vision never seemed more real than on Saturday.
And later Saturday, Japan joined the Olympic field as the highest-ranked World Cup team from Asia — clinching that spot by holding on for an 80-71 win over Cape Verde. The World Cup serves as a qualifier for seven teams — the two highest-ranked teams from the Americas, the top two from Europe, and the top finisher from Asia, Oceania and Africa — into the Olympic field.
Japan was Olympic host two summers ago and now has secured another trip to the games, though it was far from easy at the end.
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