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.
Despite the loss Nuni Omot, who led South Sudan with 25 points, said they learned a lot about themselves and their ability to compete with the world’s best.
“A lot of people have told me that I belong to play with those guys,” Omot said. “I think tonight shows my ability of what I’m capable of doing. … The Olympics is the 12 best teams that are competing right now. Just to be able to be one of the 12 teams is an honor. I think people are going to know who I am now. And it’s not about me. But people are going to know who South Sudan is.”
U.S. star Stephen Curry said South Sudan definitely has his respect.
“They fact that they’re on this stage and won their first game a couple of days go. So who knows how far they can take it?” Curry said. “You’re rooting for them, except when we play them.”
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 forced 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 Omot’s 3-pointer and a few possessions later Marial Shayok’s layup 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.
“I think we did what we like to do, they just did a good job of being physical,” said Carlik Jones, who scored 18 points. “They tried to take us out of our spots and our plays. … We competed until the end.”
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.
“We’ve got to prepare,” Omot said. “Obviously, last summer they got the best of us. I feel like we’ve just got to be prepared. We’ve got to come in with a mindset. Our coaches, they do a great job of game planning. … If we follow that, and play our game it’s going to be a very competitive game.”
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