LeBron James (Rear) challenges South Sudan's #04 Carlik Jones and South Sudan's #11 Marial Shayok. GETTY IMAGES

They came close to losing to the South Sudanese in the build-up to the Games. This time, the USA pulled out their Olympic version to win, but it was not an easy match. Serbia, also in Group C, had an emphatic win over Puerto Rico.

The USA's second match at Paris 2024 had a lot of momentum. Fans remembered that warm-up game in which the Americans needed a LeBron James basket in the final seconds to beat South Sudan.

The theory that hung over this second game, the first official match between the two teams, was that the Stade Philippe Mauroy in Lille would see a comfortable US victory. And it looked that way in the first half. Steve Kerr's men were scoring at a similar pace to the first game against Serbia and the lead looked like a comfortable win (55-36).

The third quarter saw a change. South Sudan can expect to finish third in the group, after his win over Puerto Rico, and the point difference is very important. The African team came out of the break wanting to be in the game and tightened up on defence. They forced the USA to do the same so that the lead did not drop too low and the victory was not in danger.

Bam Adebayo #13 of Team United States dunks the ball GETTY IMAGES
Bam Adebayo #13 of Team United States dunks the ball GETTY IMAGES

The last quarter continued in the same vein, with South Sudan calling a time-out when they had no chance of winning the game but reducing the deficit, which had gone over 20 points. In the end, the victory was 103-86. A more than dignified defeat for the African team.

Bam Adebayo was this time the top scorer for the USA. 18 points seven rebounds and two blocks for him. The American performance was more choral than in the first game, with six players scoring 10 points, although a poor performance by Stephen Curry stood out. The greatest three-point shooter of all time failed to hit any three-pointers and scored only three points. For South Sudan, Nuni Mot was their top scorer, and top scorer of the game, with 24 points. 




After the first game, a controversy erupted around Kerr's team. Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton did not play any minutes. And that was pointed out, especially in the case of Tatum, who was an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics last June. Both played against South Sudan, but Joel Embiid did not. 

The centre had a choice between Cameroon, France and the United States to play in national team tournaments, and he chose the USA. Now a second controversy could open after closing the first one.




The USA will close this first phase against Puerto Rico on Saturday at 17:15 local time. If there are no surprises, the Americans will qualify as top of the group, which would guarantee them a quarter-final clash with one of the third-placed teams in the group.

Serbia overwhelms Puerto Rico

Serbia were heading into their second match at Paris 2024 on the back of a heavy defeat to the United States. The team coached by Svetislav Pesic was in control from the start, stifling their opponents' attacking options and scoring quite fluently throughout the game. The final score, 107-66, shows the big difference between the two teams. 

The Serbian coach was able to spread the minutes among all his stars and thus avoid attrition. The top scorer was Filip Petrusev, who had 15 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes. But the most outstanding player was again Nikola Jokic, NBA champion, Finals MVP and three-time Regular League MVP, who nearly had a triple-double in just 23 minutes of play, with 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. Puerto Rico's most outstanding player was Christopher Ortiz, with 19 points.

Serbia will face South Sudan next Saturday in the third matchday of Group C. The winner of that match will qualify for the quarter-finals as group runners-up, and the loser will have to wait for results to see if they qualify as third.

Spain and Serbia qualify in the women's tournament

Group A of the women's tournament in Paris 2024 is clearing up doubts. Spain and Serbia both won again on day two and have already secured their place in the quarter-finals. On the third day, they will play each other for first place in the Group in a direct confrontation. It will take place on Saturday at 13.30 local time. 

Interestingly, they were already in the same group at Tokyo 2020. On that occasion, Spain won 85-70 to finish top of the group. France crossed the path of both teams: they eliminated the Spaniards in the quarter-finals and won the bronze medal match against the Serbians.

Gustafson #17 drives to the basket against Hollingshed and Roma #11 GETTY IMAGES
Gustafson #17 drives to the basket against Hollingshed and Roma #11 GETTY IMAGES

Basketball activity began today with the duel between Spain and Puerto Rico. The Central Americans made life difficult for Serbia until the end on the first day, and today they managed to do the same to the Spaniards. But they were once again denied victory.

The first half was reminiscent of the one the Puerto Ricans played against the Serbians. They had a lot of difficulty scoring and Spain's lead grew at a rapid pace. In the second quarter they improved in attack, but Spain closed with three three-pointers and went into the break 14 points up (39-25).

In the second half, the Spanish team was in error. Just as Serbia had a horrible last quarter against Puerto Rico (three points scored), Spain had a third quarter to forget. They could only score five points, with Puerto Rico getting closer, believing in their chances and sending the game into the last quarter tied (44-44). 

The last 10 minutes of the game were a very even affair. Until the final buzzer, it was not known who would win the game. Two free throws by Laura Gil with 1.9 seconds left decided the victory. Puerto Rico, in those final moments, failed to make a shot at the basket and ended up losing. On Saturday at 11:00, they will play their chances of being two of the best third-placed teams against China.




For Spain, Meg Gustafson, an American player with Spanish nationality, was once again outstanding, with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Leonor Rodriguez, with 17 points. For Puerto Rico, Arella Guirantes was the top scorer with 15 points.

Serbia had a much more comfortable match against China today. After almost losing a game they had more than controlled, Marina Maljkovic's team, the daughter of the famous coach Bozidar Maljkovic, managed to keep the game under control. They controlled their two best players in the match against Spain, Li Yueru and Li Meng.

Serbia did not need a big game from star player Dragana Stankovic. Yvonne Anderson, the Serbian-nationalised American player, was her team's top scorer with 15 points. China's top scorers were Han Xu and Wang Siyu, with 11 points each.