Sunday, July 28

South Sudan 90-79 Puerto Rico

The South Sudanese men’s national basketball team won its first ever game on their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games after a resounding 90-79 victory over Puerto Rico, in Group C opening match held at Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Paris, on Sunday, July 28.

They held it together for 40 minutes, did not panic when Puerto Rico went on their runs, and that composure led them over the finish line to start a party with the packed stands as time expired.

A game of runs saw Puerto Rico claim a nine-point lead in the first half, only to witness an 11-0 run by South Sudan, as they opened up an eight-point lead of their own in the third quarter.

ALSO READ: South Sudanese basketball team in Rwanda for Olympics preparations

Powered by George Conditt IV inside the arc, especially after his monster dunk, Puerto Rico came back once more, setting up the stage for a clutch finish to the game over the last five minutes.

South Sudan could&039;ve gone with Carlik Jones or Nuni Omot then. But coach Royal Ivey opted for a whole new weapon, handing the ball over to the 21-year-old JT Thor.

ALSO READ: FIBA World Cup 2023: South Sudan earns historic Paris 2024 Olympic berth

The lefty forward had four straight points, pushing the gap to 83-73, and allowing Carlik Jones to hit the dagger three-pointer to make it +13 with 3:03 to play.

They learned their lesson from their last encounter with Puerto Rico, an overtime loss at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, so they held it together and prevented a late comeback.

The guards dominated this game on both sides, and while the Puerto Rico tandem of Tremont Waters and Jose Alvarado did a lot of damage in the first half, the closer was once again Carlik Jones. The South Sudan's point guard had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, with just 2 turnovers in 37 minutes of work.

It required a whole team effort from the newest African powerhouse, as four other players reached double digits, including the history maker Nuni Omot, author of their first ever Olympic points.

Size matters, South Sudan won the rebounding battle 55-37, picking up 18 offensive rebounds, with an incredible 24-2 advantage in second chance points.

Both teams have now got a mountain to climb the rest of the way, facing the United States and Serbia in their remaining two Group C games. It's especially tough for Puerto Rico because they know they need to defeat one or even both those teams to have a shot of making it to the Quarter-Finals.

It wasn't to be in this game, but Jose Alvarado played his heart out with 26 points, despite rolling his ankle late in the first half.