Team USA Survives Stunning Upset Bid by South Sudan
Massive Underdogs Nearly Pull Off International Shocker
Team USA defeated South Sudan in an Olympic basketball tuneup on Saturday in London. No surprise, right? Dead wrong. In stunning basketball news, the South Sudanese team nearly pulled the mother of all upsets, losing 101-100, as it failed to score what would have been a game-winning basket in the final seconds. The 2024 Team USA upsetalmost happened, shocking everyone.
How big of an upset would it have been? In sports betting odds, South Sudan came into the contest as a 43½-point underdog. International and Olympic basketball is played in 10-minute quarters. South Sudan, a stunning more than a point-a-minute underdog, made Team USA sweat for all it was worth.
Team USA surged to a 12-2 lead and looked like it would cruise to a sports betting cover. That wasn’t about to happen as the invincible aura of LeBron James & Co. crumbled through the rest of the first half. South Sudan went on a run that didn’t end until it was up 58-42 before a USA basket just before the break.
ON HIS HEAD 😳 pic.twitter.com/XJtvzET9zx
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 20, 2024
Let’s explain this briefly: A team heading for its first Olympics and the most recent nation to join FIBA basketball outscored the vaunted USA squad 56-30. It was domination. The USA hit 1-of-11 3-points shots while South Sudan nailed 7-of-14.
Team USA finally woke up in the third quarter, outsourcing its foe, 37-18 to take an 81-76 lead. Gonna cruise from there, right? Forget it. South Sudan, behind Carlik Jones’ triple-double, hung tough and stayed in the game.
South Sudan even got a 3-point basket from JT Thor with 20 seconds left to take a 100-99 lead. The 2024 Team USA upset hung in the balance unless someone was going to save the USA from international basketball embarrassment.
LeBron James to the Rescue
James, who had 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, was not about to leave the game in anyone else’s hands. The all-time great knew this could be an all-time humiliation. He powered to the hoop and hit a layup with eight seconds left. South Sudan still had time to complete the miracle that would have been stunning basketball news and a staggering sports betting result. The 2024 Team USA upset was so close yet slipped away in the final moments.
THE DAGGER.
🇺🇸 #USABMNT x @KingJames pic.twitter.com/PR1rysxOfn
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 20, 2024
“I like being tested.” James said. “Those are the best ones.”
Olympic debutants South Sudan 🇸🇸 – the youngest country in the world founded in 2011 have pushed the USA 🇺🇸 to the edge 101-100 in a friendly game in London ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.
The Bright Stars face the USA again on July 31 in Group C.
— Usher Komugisha (@UsherKomugisha) July 20, 2024
South Sudan earned everyone’s respect coming into the basketball event in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. What to make of the USA, which came off a crushing win over Serbia? Overconfident? Cocky? Vulnerable? The basketball competition in the Olympics got a lot more interesting thanks to the upstarts from South Sudan.
Great game @usabasketball pic.twitter.com/rxmnL7RK4M
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 20, 2024
South Sudan, known as the Bright Stars, grew brighter in a loss that had international basketball’s attention until the final buzzer. The 2024 Team USA upset, although it didn’t happen, showed the world the potential and skill of the South Sudanese team.
Steve Kerr said he didn’t do a good job preparing #TeamUSA. pic.twitter.com/QlsZMNhpJv
— Len Werle (@RealLennyCarlos) July 20, 2024
