Paris 2024 Olympics: South Sudan continue meteoric rise with basketball Olympic debut victory over Puerto Rico
The Olympic debut of the South Sudan men's basketball team was a rousing success on and off the floor. Tens of South Sudanese flags donned Pierre Mauroy Arena on Sunday (28 July) as the recently independent country in central Africa completed its amazing journey to basketball’s biggest stage at Paris 2024.
Led by enthusiastic and personable coach Royal Ivey, South Sudan overcame a slow start, and stymied Puerto Rico defensively in the second half to coast to a 90-79 win. Wearing their nation’s colors of black, red and green, the African nation not only celebrated its first Olympic victory but the continuance of an improbable journey from little-known country to emerging basketball power.
With a group of players with NBA experience, native South Sudanese who were relegated to training in other nations because of lack of facilities and naturalized citizens such as leading scorer Carlik Jones, South Sudan has risen to more than just a neat story. With one more win over its next two games against Team USA and Serbia, it has a chance to advance to the knockout round.
South Sudan blitzed Puerto Rico with five 3-pointers in the third period to overcome a six-point halftime deficit, wearing down the opponent with physicality and athleticism. Jones led South Sudan with 19 points while former NBA player Marial Shayok added 15 points.
The atmosphere following the win was elation. The South Sudanese contingent celebrated in the crowd and the players, expressed delight and relief. Step one of their mission was accomplished.
“It means a lot, just to be here,” forward Majok Deng said. “It was a surreal moment and emotional in a way too because to raise your flag at that stage means everything and that’s what we’re fighting for.”
Deng was born in Sudan and then spent time in a refugee camp in Kenya during the Sudanese Civil War before his family moved to Australia. He became an Australian citizen in 2021 but then decided to join the South Sudanese team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“Just to think about, being born in a village and then going to a refugee camp to Australia and to be here right now, I couldn’t be more thankful, just to thank God,” Deng said. “People think that we’re super human but we’re not. We’re just regular people, just trying to do our part. Every single person back home is proud of us and they’re cheering for us.”
Eleven months ago in Quezon, Philippines, South Sudan lost a 101-96 decision to Puerto Rico, blowing a fourth-quarter lead and then losing in overtime. Ivey reminded his players of that heartbreaking loss, and they took that memory into this rematch.
“We had this one marked for a year, they got us in the World Cup,” Ivey said as Puerto Rican players walked by and heard his booming voice. “We had to return the favor. My hats off to Puerto Rico, hell of a team. We had focus. We had this circled for a year; I had to wait a year. We gave away a 10-point lead and they beat us in overtime. I don’t want to stir it up, but that’s the truth. These guys are resilient; we competed every play.”
For South Sudan to have an opportunity to advance to the Knockout Round in Paris, it desperately needed to win the opener against Puerto Rico. South Sudan fell behind early, allowing New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and ex-Boston Celtic Tremont Waters to splash threes early to race to a 40-31 lead.
Alvarado, who scored 19 first-half points, tweaked his right ankle late in the first half and was forced to leave the game before returning hobbled early in the third quarter. He limped around the floor in the second half, valiantly trying to help Puerto Rico rally despite the onslaught of South Sudan 3-pointers. South Sudan’s stifling defense held Puerto Rico to 25 second-half points on 10-for-39 shooting and 0-for-11 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Alvarado finished with 26 points and Waters added 18, but on just 6-for-19 from the field. Puerto Rico also missed 10 free throws.
It was a masterclass in defense for South Sudan, which gave Team USA fits with its speed and athleticism in their exhibition matchup on 20 July. The two teams meet again for real Wednesday in Lille. Team USA used a LeBron James layup to best South Sudan 101-100, which opened the eyes of many international basketball fans.
“Being in the Olympics, getting our first win, I’m proud of our players,” Ivey said. “This is so surreal; I couldn’t experience anything better than this. I’m so thankful for the opportunity. I’m going to take this gracefully and work on (preparing for) USA next. That (previous) game was a Friendly. They’re going to be ready for us. So we gotta look at the film from Puerto Rico, get better, get sharper. A lot of mistakes today but we got the win. USA is a big challenge and we’ll prepare. We’ll get in the gym and we’ll get it right.”
Gary Washburn is an Olympic Channel correspondent and National NBA Writer for the Boston Globe.