South Sudan came into Saturday’s game against Serbia knowing that a win or a defeat by less than 3 points will help them secure a place in the quarterfinals in the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The Bright Stars, either way, already had a historic outing in Paris, participating in their first-ever Olympics and also registering their first win with their opening game victory over Puerto Rico.
However, it didn’t go as planned for South Sudan as they fell 96-85 to Serbia, who were led by monster performances from Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Bogdanovic was red-hot, shooting 6-of-9 from the 3-point line, ending the game with 30 points, four rebounds, and 8 assists, while Jokic poured in 22 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists and was 7-of-9 from the field.
Serbia, ranked fourth in the world, were just too clutch offensively, as they shot over 60% on field goals and 53.4% from beyond the 3-point arc, while holding the South Sudanese team to under 43% from the field.
They outrebounded South Sudan 40-32, recorded more assists 31-20, and got more blocks 8-3 in a completely dominant defensive performance.
Vasilije Micic of the Charlotte Hornets came off the bench to supply 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists for Serbia, while Filip Petrusev added 10 points and recorded two blocks.
The Bright Stars also had four players in double digits, with Carlik Jones and Marial Shayok finishing with 17 points each, with the former recording a game-high ten assists and the latter raking in five threes.
Nuni Omot got 14 points, and Bul Kuol, who later fouled out late in the fourth quarter, ended with 11 points, while former Los Angeles Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel poured in nine points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Serbia’s victory ensured they finished second on five points in Group C, a point behind the unbeaten United States, who secured a blowout win over Puerto Rico earlier in the day, and a point ahead of South Sudan, who narrowly missed out on progressing to the next round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Greece (-8), led by Milwaukee Bucks Nigerian-descent star Giannis Antetokounmpo will progress to the quarterfinals alongside Brazil (-7), as the two third-played teams, thanks to a better point difference than the Bright Stars (-17).
Despite the disappointment of not going through, South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, can hold their heads high as they have done themselves and Africa proud on the biggest of stages, having been previously given little to no chance of winning a game at the Olympics. Talk more of having a chance of making it out of a group that had three of the top 20 ranked teams in the world.
