LONDON (Great Britain) - It's the summer that defines the sweetest of dreams for South Sudan, as Royal Ivey's team will historically participate in their first-ever Olympic Games.
Preparing for this outstanding appointment in London, they are taking part in their first of two friendly games in the British capital. The second will involve USA Basketball at the O2 Arena on July 22nd. The Bright Stars took down Great Britain 84-81.
The story of the game
Dragged by Carl Wheatle, Daniel Akin, and Myles Hesson, the hosts were off to a promising start at Copper Box. Always focused on passing lanes and ready to find the correct shot on the offensive end, Marc Steutel's team came to play against South Sudan.
The hosts were leading by 10 points (35-25) midway through the second quarter, but that's when the Bright Stars found the right approach to begin a comeback before halftime.
A 14-1 run to close the second quarter served as a preview to an astonishing third quarter, where Royal Ivey's team not only escaped thanks to a three-point transition showdown but also managed to slow down the British offensive attempts.
Despite Great Britain's efforts to come back into contention late in the game—they were only down 82-81 with seven seconds to go—South Sudan stayed alive, heading to their second London clash against USA Basketball.
The player of the game
While Carlik Jones managed South Sudan's offense from the control room, Marial Shayok took the crucial shots down the stretch.
The 28-year-old guard, who played his first official tournament for the African side last year at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, finished with 27 points, including 4/6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 5/5 at the free-throw line.
Shayok also delivered the decisive block to secure the victory.
The stats of the game
Attempting 29.0 shots from beyond the arc throughout the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, South Sudan clearly relied on three-pointers to drive its offense.
Considering they were the 3rd best team in the tournament at converting them, with a 40.7% success rate—only behind Latvia (42.1%) and Lithuania (42.2%)—this approach made sense.
The turning point of their victory against Great Britain came when their shots started to fall at the Copper Box. They finished with 13/32 (40.0%) from three-point range, while Great Britain only managed 8/25 (32.0%).
The takeaways from the game
Starting with the hosts, Great Britain was fearless against South Sudan, particularly Myles Hesson, who put up an impressive 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in a losing effort. Despite having a summer free of official tournaments, their attitude demonstrated that they could make their presence felt in the upcoming November window for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers against the Greek national team.
South Sudan, as known, is not only facing a crucial end of July and beginning of August in Paris but also another dream-chasing clash against USA Basketball. With Carlik Jones still in control, they can be confident. He's the biggest reason they're here, and once again, he proved to be hungry for more.
In Manila, he was only one rebound away from a marvelous triple-double against the Philippines. Could he join Alexander Belov, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic as the fourth player ever to achieve this feat at the Olympic Games?
FIBA