Serbia outlasted South Sudan 96-85 in a thrilling game where one of the best third-placed spots from Group C was on the line in Lille.
The result saw Serbia safely into the quarter-finals, but also saw Greece advance as well with this result.
With Brazil taking one of the two best third-placed spots at 1-2 and -7, Greece needed Serbia to defeat South Sudan by three points or more, so their 1-2 and -8 records also sends them through to the last eight of the Olympics.
But heartbreakingly for South Sudan, it places them at 1-2 and -17, nine points behind Greece in the third-placed team’s rankings, and eliminates them from contention.
Bogdan Bogdanovic drained six three-pointers from nine attempts for his 30-point haul, with Nikola Jokic adding a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
The second Group C clash was more straightforward, as USA finished their Lille adventure a perfect 3-0, by beating Puerto Rico 104-83.
However, the win was not routine, and LeBron James needed to spark the U.S. into life.
Already eliminated before tip-off, Puerto Rico still went out there and competed, taking an eight-point lead late in the first period and scoring 29 points by its end.
For a moment, a repeat of Athens 2004 was getting real when Puerto Rico stunned the United States, but for James, who was on that team, he didn’t want history to repeat itself.
James returned to the floor after a timeout and got three straight assists, two dunks, two free throws, and another assist, getting six points and four assists in that span en route to a 64-45 advantage at half-time.
Anthony Edwards wowed the sell-out crowd at the Stade Pierre Mouroy with 26 points including some highlight dunks too.
Photo: FIBA
