JUBA, South Sudan (AFP) — Thousands of people turned out to give a hero’s welcome to South Sudan’s basketball team after their first ever appearance at an Olympic Games.

The performance of the Bright Stars in Paris has been a source of joy for the world’s youngest nation, even though their dreams of medal glory were dashed when they failed to reach the quarter finals after group stage defeats by the United States and Serbia.

“The whole world now knows who South Sudan is through basketball,” team captain Kuany Kuany told jubilant fans at a stadium in Juba.

The players were welcomed by fans and dignitaries at the airport before a procession took them to the stadium where they were feted with a ceremony featuring traditional dance and musical performances.

Kuany said their Olympic appearance was a “uniting factor” for the nation, which was plunged into civil war just two years after its 2011 independence and remains plagued by political and ethnic violence, poverty and corruption, as well as frequent natural calamities.