PARIS, France, Aug 1 – The United States’ quest for a fifth straight Olympic gold medal remains on track after securing a place in the quarter-finals with a win over South Sudan.
The Bright Stars, 33rd in the world rankings, were no match for the 16-time champions and were defeated 103-86 at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
USA led from the first quarter and never looked back, with Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo registering a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds.
For South Sudan, Nuni Omot led the way with a game-high 24 points.
But although entertaining, this match was by no means as dramatic as when the two nations met earlier this month for an Olympic warm-up game.
The United States had to come from 16 points down that night to avoid one of the biggest shocks in basketball history as they edged a 101-100 victory in London.
Team USA features 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions, who combined have 11 Olympic appearances and own 10 gold medals.
They will round-up their Group C qualifiers by playing Puerto Rico on Saturday, while South Sudan will have to get a result against Serbia in order to progress.
