Despite his age, the strong LeBron James had a fantastic performance as the USA made a difficult comeback against a team making its first appearance at the Olympics

The US basketball team successfully came back to beat South Sudan 101-100 after 4 rounds.

At the O2 Arena in London, the US basketball team narrowly missed out on a loss to South Sudan, who will be making their Olympic debut at the end of July. LeBron James and his teammates came back from behind to win 101-100. Despite being a friendly match, the US had a tough time against the unknown African team.

South Sudan led 58-42 at one point in the second half, before going into the break with a 14-point advantage. However, the US played impressively in the third quarter, scoring 16 consecutive points and not giving their opponents any chance to respond.

South Sudan played better in the final quarter, leading by 1 point with only 20 seconds left on the countdown clock.

Lebron James spoke up at the right time, finishing the combination from the left wing with a layup, putting the US ahead. The remaining 8 seconds were not enough for South Sudan to organize an attack. They accepted defeat with a score of 100-101.

Marial Shayok is the name that makes the Olympic teams wary. Shayok (25 points) scored the most points in the match, surpassing Lebron James (23 points). In the first half, South Sudan completely dominated, achieving a successful scoring rate of 61%. If they had not lost too many points in the third half, they could have created a landslide against the US.

“I have to admit they are a strong opponent, but I’m also glad the whole team was challenged. I like the feeling of having to conquer something,” said LeBron James, a two-time Olympic champion.

“It was a tough game. At a point when it seemed like we couldn’t lose, South Sudan came in and brought us back to reality. The US could have lost too,” defender Anthony Edwards said.

The 2024 Olympics will be the first Olympics in which South Sudanese basketball will compete. The country’s Basketball Federation was only established in 2011 and joined the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in 2013. The South Sudan basketball team played its first game in 2017.

For the Americans, their team played their first match since 1936, winning the Olympic gold medal in their first competition. The US goal at this year’s Olympics is to win a fifth consecutive gold medal.