Paris 2024: South Sudan beat Puerto Rico for first-ever Olympic basketball win

Carlik Jones scored 19 points as South Sudan rallied in the second half to beat Puerto Rico 90-79 in the Paris Olympics opener for both teams Sunday.

It is the first Olympic basketball victory for South Sudan, which is playing in its first Games after qualifying as Africa’s top finisher in last year’s World Cup. Marial Shayok added 15 points for South Sudan, which will next meet the U.S. on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico led throughout the first half of the Group C matchup but was disrupted late in the second quarter after top scorer Jose Alvarado left late with an apparent sprained ankle. He returned early in the third quarter and finished with 26 points and five assists. Tremont Waters added 18 points.

South Sudan, which nearly pulled off a stunning exhibition upset of the U.S. leading into the Olympics, showed that same scrappiness Sunday against a Puerto Rico team it lost to in last year’s World Cup.

Prior to tipoff, the wrong national anthem was played for South Sudan, which emerged from civil war to become an independent nation in 2011. The recorded track was then cut off after 20 seconds.

The Sudanese players and their fans first stood confused, prompting fans of both teams to boo. They then started clapping as South Sudan’s players stood in unison with their hands over their hearts watching for the issue to be reconciled.

“It’s the pride for their country,” said South Sudan coach Royal Ivey, who is American. “South Sudan. ‘Sud’ means ‘the land of the Black.’ These guys wanted to play. Wanted to hear their anthem. They messed up on the anthem, but they got it correct. We all make mistakes. I’m definitely going to put that in comments. But at the end of the day, these guys are brothers.”

The Sudanese players and their fans first stood confused, prompting fans of both teams to boo. They then started clapping as South Sudan’s players stood in unison with their hands over their hearts watching for the issue to be reconciled.

“It’s the pride for their country,” said South Sudan coach Royal Ivey, who is American. “South Sudan. ‘Sud’ means ‘the land of the Black.’ These guys wanted to play. Wanted to hear their anthem. They messed up on the anthem, but they got it correct. We all make mistakes. I’m definitely going to put that in comments. But at the end of the day, these guys are brothers.”