Where is South Sudan? You may ask. However, after checking out the mighty Team USA this weekend, you probably won't forget them now. In fact, the US men's national team must be having nightmares when they think about how the African nation almost upset them during Saturday night's exhibition game ahead of the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
If it weren't for LeBron James' second-half heroics, the American team would not have been able to escape with a 101-100 victory at the O2 Arena. That is why South Sudan, who once led with 16 points, are called 'Bright Stars.'
The matchup was so dramatic, that even former Hornets player JT Thor almost dropped a shot from deep with 20 seconds to go at the final buzzer, but he couldn't get it into the net and bury Team USA.
Coach Kerr seeing the team after last night's show. 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/LF0uiZIKjx
– South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 21, 2024
After the game, Steve Kerr took full responsibility for not knowing much about the opponent's game before the collision. “I didn't do a good job preparing our team, I think we didn't focus enough on what they can do and that's on me,” said the Team USA coach.
“They played a good game and the end was good for us to hear that. “Hearing how it will be in Paris and Lille … it's a good reminder that when we play against teams, it's a big game in their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that,” he said after the game.
If it wasn't for people like LeBron, who is seen as the biggest leader in the list even at the age of 39, the United States would not have lost this tournament. The Lakers star scored 25 points and made back-to-back power plays in a 23-5 run from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth.
“Don't miss anything in South Sudan,” said the NBA's leading scorer this weekend. “They played high quality basketball and that's why the game is won between the lines and not all on paper.”
Steph Curry, on the other hand, also contributed with two clutch shots from beyond the arc. “We can lose if we don't play our basketball. And our style of basketball is playing defense,” said Curry, who finished the night with 12 points to his name.
Kerr admitted the team felt 'embarrassed' at halftime and praised Team USA's ability to respond and win the game in the final seconds.
In the words of Steve Kerr, the locker room admitted they were “absolutely defeated” at halftime, as they trailed by 14 points and even felt “embarrassed” by being outplayed by South Sudan. However, the Warriors hero decided not to play leaders like James in the third quarter to give the second team a chance to change the game.
“I think the whole team was embarrassed at halftime to be completely outplayed and down 14,” Kerr said. “And I don't think so [James] He is very happy that I am not starting him in the third quarter. But I thought the next team we put out there did a really good job defensively. And I looked down a few times and I saw LeBron crouch down a little bit to be down as soon as he got out there and went to work, so he was smart. “
Regarding the coach of South Sudan, Royal Ivey, who is also the deputy coach of the Rockets, could not hide his pride in not stopping the gold medal contenders by fighting throughout the tournament. He hopes to take this same energy into the Olympics and produce epic performances.
“We want to take the momentum, the mindset, the resilience that we had [to the Olympics],” said a strategist working in Houston. “We didn't panic.”
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