Khaman Maluach, South Sudan win first Olympic basketball game over Puerto Rico

Khaman Maluach and South Sudan erased a six-point halftime deficit for a resounding victory over Puerto Rico, the country’s first Olympic win.

South Sudan has finally won an Olympic basketball game.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] and his countrymen erased a six-point halftime deficit against Puerto Rico on Sunday for a 90-79 victory, the first South Sudan victory in Olympic basketball history.

Puerto Rico built an eight-point lead in the first quarter alone and led 54-48 at the midway point, but South Sudan held them to 25 points over the final two quarters.

Maluach, an incoming Duke basketball freshman and one of four five-star signees in the 2024 recruiting class, played just six minutes. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in his limited time. Carlik Jones led the team with 19 points, and South Sudan outrebounded Puerto Rico 55-37.

The victory represents the start of group play in the men’s basketball competition. South Sudan and Puerto Rico sit in Group C alongside the United States and Serbia, who play each other later on Sunday. Each country plays the other three once with the top two teams in each group guaranteed to advance into the quarterfinals. One more victory should virtually assure South Sudan’s spot in the final eight.

Maluach’s new teammates in Durham surely rooted him on this morning, and a handful of them included South Sudan in their podium predictions.