By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France – The game started with the wrong national anthem on the arena speakers for South Sudan and Puerto Rico leading for the first 22 minutes.
However, when all was said and done, South Sudan got the 90-79 win over Puerto Rico and became the first African team to win a game in the Olympics since 1996.
On top of that, due to the competition system, this win may be enough for South Sudan to reach one more milestone, becoming the first-ever African team to make it to the Olympics quarterfinals.
“We were waiting for this game for a year, it was a revenge game after losing to Puerto Rico in the FIBA World Cup”, said South Sudan coach Royal Ivey.
The Jones show
Carlik Jones with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists led the way for South Sudan with Marial Shayok adding 15 points and three rebounds.
Puerto Rico got 26 points and three assists from Jose Alvarado, who was hurt in the ankle during the first half but returned in the second. Tremont Waters added 18 points and four assists.
By shooting 67% in threes in the first half, Puerto Rico got the 54-48 halftime lead after starting the game with an 8-0 run.
South Sudan, however, kept fighting, got the lead in the 22nd minute of the game, and never lost it after that.
It was a historic day for them which started with a huge blunder of the organizers, who played the anthem of Sudan by mistake during the presentation of the teams. But all’s well that ends well.
Photo Credit: FIBA