2024-07-22 12:37:01
On its way to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where it will defend its gold medal, the United States basketball team, with all its NBA stars, was on the verge of losing in the last second to South Sudan in a friendly match played this Saturday in London.
Steve Kerr’s team won 101-100 in an incredible finale. The Americans were down 99-100 and, with 10 seconds left, LeBron James took charge of the attack. The Los Angeles Lakers forward slipped through the defenders and deposited the ball with a layup to give his team the lead.
With just 8 seconds left in the game, South Sudan called a timeout and returned the ball from midcourt to make the final attack and have a chance to win the game against the powerful Dream Team. Carlick Jones shook off Jrue Holiday and tried a double near the basket, but missed.
The rebound fell to Wenyen Gabriel, who missed the dunk in an unusual way. The 2.06-meter-tall power forward was unable to put the ball in the basket on two occasions and deprived the African team of a surprise.
“The end was good for us, to feel what it is going to be like in Paris, in Lille (the host city of basketball). It was a good experience for us, a good reminder that when we play against other teams, it is the greatest experience of their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that,” said coach Kerr at the end of the match.
The United States, 16-time Olympic gold medallists and champions of the last four editions, are the favourites to claim first place again. In this penultimate friendly against South Sudan before Paris 2024 (they will play Germany on July 23), they had LeBron James (25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists), Anthony Davis (15) and Joel Embiid (14) as stars.