Wenyen Gabriel expresses frustration over free throw discrepancy after South Sudan's exit from Olympics
Wenyen Gabriel and South Sudan's Olympic journey came to an end after Serbia beat them in a hard-fought game, 96-85, on Saturday. The Africans gave the Europeans everything they could handle from start to finish, even taking the lead in the second half. However, the Serbs proved to be too much in the end.
Following the final buzzer, Wenyen Gabriel took to social media to criticize the free-throw disparity between South Sudan and Serbia. South Sudan was called for 23 personal fouls while Serbia got 17. This resulted in a 31-6 discrepancy between the team's free-throw attempts.
Gabriel didn't like those numbers and shared an Instagram story showing his unhappiness with the referees' decisions.
Gabriel's teammate Nuni Omot echoed this sentiment, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to share a similar message.
South Sudan started the men's Olympic basketball tournament strong with a win against Puerto Rico. Team USA beat them in the second duel of the group stage, putting them in a complex position ahead of the Serbia game.
Serbia proved to be a tough opponent for the Africans, but the Europeans had to wait until the fourth quarter to make a clear difference and secure the win.
Wenyen Gabriel supports Nuni Omot as he shares his desire to play in the NBA
Before taking on Serbia, big man Nuni Omot was making a good impression on fans. Ahead of the game versus Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and the rest of the European squad, Omot offered himself to NBA teams, saying that he's ready to help whoever gives him a chance.
"Any team that gives me a chance, I promise you won’t regret it. 🙏🏿," the big man wrote on X.
Wenyen Gabriel, who has played five seasons in the NBA for seven teams, including the LA Lakers, supported his teammate by sending a two-word message on Instagram stories.
"League him," Gabriel wrote.
Omot, who played two seasons at Baylor, went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. The 29-year-old has since played professionally in different countries, including the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, and Puerto Rico. He has spent this year playing in China and Israel.