Another scandal at the Olympics ends with a South Sudan win

Everything was supposed to be perfect, but it isn't. Either the French took the organization lightly, or they weren't up to the task. It's only the opening days of the Olympics, yet some blunders are so obvious and disappointing that they become tragicomic. The hosts of the world's biggest event have failed multiple times, leaving one to wonder what will happen next. It started with the South Korean delegation being introduced as North Korea (!?) during the opening ceremony; then it was announced that the Turks would parade, but Tunisian athletes appeared on the screen. And today another scandal orchestrated by the French happened. Before the opening match of Group C of the basketball tournament, the wrong anthem was played!

Before the start of the South Sudan – Puerto Rico match in Lille, the hall echoed with the anthem of Sudan. The very same Sudan from which South Sudan was separated in 2011 after a decades-long civil war that claimed over 2,000,000 lives. And when this country, one of the poorest on the planet, finally got to debut at the Olympics and have its anthem heard in honor of its independence, the French made a huge error.

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The South Sudanese players and their supporters were far from indifferent. The crowd, supportive of the African team, protested so vigorously that they practically forced the organizers to acknowledge the mistake, halt the playing of Sudan's anthem, and scramble to find the correct melody. It took a while. During this time, the audience applauded the South Sudanese basketball players, and even the Puerto Ricans realized the impact of the mistake on their rivals and showed solidarity. Finally, the correct anthem was played, but during the chaos, Wenyen Gabriel went to the locker room—probably in protest—missing that long-awaited moment. None of this, however, prevented the African team from recording their first victory in the tournament (90:79).

Although Puerto Rico scored the opening eight points of the game and maintained the lead until the beginning of the second half, mostly through distance shots and a series of three-pointers, South Sudan achieved the triumph. This was primarily due to the influence of Carlik Jones. The American point guard (who played for this team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup) was the driving force of the team. He finished the game with 19 points, shooting seven of 15 from the field, making his fourth attempt from three-point range, but was perfect from the free-throw line (four for four), recorded six rebounds, had the same number of assists, and committed only two turnovers. He was valuable for the team on both ends of the court, especially in the crucial moments of the game when Puerto Rico closed the gap to two points, showing that he is a player who takes responsibility and knows how to celebrate it.