In their first appearance at the Olympic Games, the men’s basketball team of South Sudan started with a victory, 90-79, over Puerto Rico in the opening match of Group 3 in Lille.
Although they found themselves down by 8 points (20-28) at the end of the 1st quarter and by 6 points (48-54) at halftime, the players of Royal Ivy responded with a scoring run in the 3rd quarter to lead 71-69 at the 30-minute mark and began the 4th quarter with a remarkable 15-4 scoring run (!) to “seal the deal” for the win.
Who stood out
The 26-year-old NBA player, Carlik Jones, and superstar of South Sudan, was the player who made the difference, scoring 19 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists. Following him in performance was Marial Shayok with 15 points, while Nuni Omot and Bul Kuol contributed 12 points each. Peter Jok, who plays in Canada for the Ottawa Blackjacks, added 11 points for South Sudan.
Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans was the top scorer for Puerto Rico, with 26 points and 5 assists, while Tremont Waters added 18 points (and 4 assists).
The quarters: 20-28, 48-54, 71-69, 90-79