This first match of the second day of the men's 5×5 tournament started with a big hiccup: the Sudanese anthem was played for South Sudan, triggering anger among the supporters and confusion among the players.
The crowd at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium still saved the moment, with long seconds of applause, while the organizers found the right anthem. In the process, the Royal Ivey players conceded an 8-0 that forced the coach to call a time-out after only one minute of play, to calm his players down.
Jose Alvarado's injury
Tremont Waters and Jose Alvarado hurt South Sudan a lot from 3-point range but, using their size, the “Bright Stars” managed to get back into the game.
Puerto Rico led by 8 points (28-20) after the first ten minutes, but while Tremont Waters was knitting a lot, South Sudan equalized, even if the gap widened again at half-time (54-48).
The very bad news for the “12 Magnificos” is the injury of Jose Alvarado, whose ankle turned just before half-time, and who returned to the locker room helped by two members of the Puerto Rican staff.
Cheered by the fans, Jose Alvarado returned to the game but, after two successful 3-pointers, South Sudan took the lead (56-54) for the first time in the game. Forcing Puerto Rico to call a timeout…
Tremont Waters waters
Except that the 3-point successes continue for South Sudan, while Tremont Waters plays alone. The gap increases to 8 points (69-61) on a new outside success by Peter Jok. On the verge of breaking down, and with offensive solutions hampered by the size and scope of the opponent, Puerto Rico nevertheless manages to react.
With ten minutes left in the match, South Sudan is only leading by two points (71-69).
Already tense, the match became even more tense, but the multiple offensive rebounds recovered by South Sudan allowed them to keep the lead… as did the proper watering of Tremont Waters.
Even if the end of the match was not perfectly controlled by South Sudan, the victory is still at the end (90-79). And it is already historic for this very young country, which obtained its independence in 2011.
Photo credit: FIBA
