Defeated, but not broken, South Sudan basketball has chance to continue its Paris Olympics odyssey

VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France (AP) — South Sudan came to the Paris Olympics riding a wave of firsts.

The war-torn 13-year-old nation qualified for its first Olympic basketball tournament and entered Wednesday’s matchup with the U.S. coming off its first Olympic victory.

It can add one more milestone: a first Olympic loss.

South Sudan took the U.S. to the brink in a one-point loss exhibition loss leading up to the Games, using its speed and scrappiness to nearly upend the superior talent of the NBA stars.

On Wednesday, despite a few highlights and an early flurry to briefly take the lead, South Sudan was overmatched in the rematch, losing 103—86.

South Sudan trailed by as many as 21 in the first half before cutting it down to 12 in the fourth quarter. But the clock, and a stronger close by the U.S. in Round 2, were too much to overcome.

In the exhibition game in London earlier this month, South Sudan caused a scare and caused some postgame self-reflection by a U.S. team seeking a fifth straight Olympic gold medal.

This time, a quick 6-0 deficit necessitated that South Sudan coach Royal Ivey use his first timeout 1:31 into the game to try to calm his team down.

After starting 0 for 4 from the field, Bul Kuol finally broke South Sudan’s scoring drought when he got free for a one-handed dunk. That was followed by a 3-pointer by Nuni Omot, and a few possessions later a layup by Marial Shayok to give the Africans their first lead of the game.

That burst of momentum didn’t last.

The U.S. ended the period on a 20-6 run to take a 26-14 lead into the second.

The spurt also included multiple moments in which South Sudan was overwhelmed by the U.S. pressure.

On one occasion, Sunday Dech tried to find some dribbling room, but was hounded by Jrue Holiday for about 10 seconds before being forced into an errant pass and turnover.

In another instance JT Thor couldn’t find space in the paint with Anthony Davis lurking, and he finally fired up a wild shot off the side of the backboard.

It wasn’t as if the crowd inside Pierre Mauroy Stadium wasn’t rooting for South Sudan to pull off the upset.

It received a raucous roar when it took the court for pregame warmups.

And Omot was dressed for the spotlight, wearing light green Nikes with silver streaks on the back that glittered under the stadium lights.

The shine wore off, but not South Sudan’s spirit. Or a chance to continue its Olympic odyssey.

South Sudan will face Serbia on Saturday in its last group-stage game, with the winner joining the U.S. in Paris for the knockout round.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games