South Sudan, New Zealand fall in tournament openers

FIBA World Cup debutant South Sudan has come agonizingly close to a victory in its first ever game at the tournament, but fell to Puerto Rico in overtime yesterday evening.

The Bright Stars headed into half-time with a 10-point lead, but they were pegged back in the second half. Ismael Romero had the chance to win the game for Puerto Rico with a pair of free throws after the final buzzer in the fourth quarter but missed both to send the game to overtime.

Reigning NBA G-League MVP Carlik Jones starred for South Sudan in the five-point loss with 35 points, 11 assists and four steals, while Wenyen Gabriel ended the game with three blocks.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CLUTCH ??<br><br>Carlik Jones balled out against Puerto Rico despite the loss ?<br><br>? 35 PTS, 11 AST, 6 REB, 4 STL &amp; 40 EFF ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAWC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAWC</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinForSouthSudan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WinForSouthSudan</a> ?? <a href="https://t.co/bjo65FxsOr">pic.twitter.com/bjo65FxsOr</a></p>&mdash; FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 ? (@FIBAWC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1695405715836522542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sunday Dech and Majok Deng both played solid roles in the incredible game, and both hit the court for over 19 minutes of action.

Dech ended the game with six points and a pair of rebounds, while Deng finished with seven points and four rebounds before fouling out.

Junior Madut did not play, nor did uncontracted free agent Deng Acuoth.

New Zealand fought strongly against the United States in its opening game of the tournament, however the power of the gold medal-fancies proved too strong.

Following their pre-game haka the Tall Blacks shot out to an improbably ten-point lead in the first quarter before they were meticulously pegged back.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? Haka Alert ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TallBlacks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TallBlacks</a> performed the first Haka of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAWC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAWC</a> 2023 just before their game against the USA ? <a href="https://t.co/OEvcJFiiv7">pic.twitter.com/OEvcJFiiv7</a></p>&mdash; FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 ? (@FIBAWC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1695417369794085092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The United States had an even spread of contributors on the offensive end. Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero top scored with 21 points, while five other players hit double-digits in the scoring column.

New Zealand captain and South East Melbourne guard Reuben Te Rangi top-scored for his side with 15 points, while Melbourne’s Shea Ili and Breaker Finn Delany added 12 points each.

Both teams will next hit the floor on Monday night. South Sudan will take on former South East Melbourne centre Zhou Qi's Chinese national team, while the Tall Blacks will lock horns with Jordan.