South Sudan had an incredible night, bursting into the fourth quarter and toppling Puerto Rico in the first match of Group C, marking its first victory in Olympic history.
South Sudan made history once again. Playing against Puerto Rico, South Sudan saw and heard – the hosts playing the wrong national anthem before the match. However, nothing went wrong on the court for the remarkable crew led by Carlik Jones, who relied on an outstanding 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull ahead 86-73 and ultimately secure the win with a score of 90-79 in the first match of the Olympic tournament’s Group C.
This victory is indeed special for South Sudan, as it is its first in Olympic history, in its first participation in the grand celebration of sports.
It is worth noting that Team USA and Serbia are also in the same group, which means that with this victory, South Sudan has almost secured at least third place – thus holding hopes for advancing to the quarterfinals – hoping it can chase a miracle against the two giants. Moreover, just a few days ago, they lost at the end against Team USA in a friendly match.
The incredible Carlik Jones led the Africans again with 19 points, with Marial Shayok adding 15 points and Nuni Amot and Bull Kuol contributing 12 points each.
For Puerto Rico, Jose Alvarado scored 26 points – playing injured in the second half – while Tremont Waters added 18 points.
THE QUARTERS: 20-28, 48-54, 71-69, 90-79
SOUTH SUDAN (Ivey): Carlik Jones 19 (1 three-pointer, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), Omot 12 (2), Maluok 2, Kuol 12 (2), Gabriel 6 (9 rebounds), Thor 6, Shayok 15 (1/5 three-pointers), McCoy, Deng 4, Jok 11 (3), Dek 3 (1)
PUERTO RICO (Colon): Pineiro 4, Condit 13 (6 rebounds), Howard 4, Reed, Alvarado 26 (3/8 three-pointers, 5 assists), Ford, Clavell 11 (3), Romero, Ortiz 3 (1), Toro, Waters 18 (6/19 shooting, 3/10 three-pointers)
Team statistics for South Sudan: 23/49 two-pointers, 10/29 three-pointers, 14/15 free throws, 55 rebounds, 18 assists, 21 turnovers, 6 steals, 5 blocks
Team statistics for Puerto Rico: 16/39 two-pointers, 11/31 three-pointers, 14/24 free throws, 37 rebounds, 19 assists, 12 turnovers, 10 steals, 3 blocks
The director of SPORT24, Pantelis Vlahopoulos, is in Lille and, along with PPC, is following the journey of the National Basketball Team in the Olympic Games.