Puerto Rico vs South Sudan
July 28, 2024 at 05:00 AM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: South Sudan -1 — Over/Under: 168.5
South Sudan and Puerto Rico meet Sunday in the 2024 Summer Olympics at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. Here’s a South Sudan vs Puerto Rico Prediction. This article will include a South Sudan vs Puerto Rico Pick.
South Sudan Betting Preview
South Sudan is in the basketball Olympics for the first time and is led by coaches and former NBA players Royal Ivey and Luol Deng. South Sudan has one current NBA player on its roster in Charlotte Hornets, JT Thor, as Bol Bol withdrew from the event last week due to personal reasons. Wenyen Gabriel has bounced around the NBA the last few years, and Nuni Omot was recently the MVP in the Basketball Africa League. Carlik Jones was recently the NBA G League MVP, and Peter Jok was named Iowa Mr. Basketball a decade ago. South Sudan is still building its basketball scene, but there’s accomplished players on this roster, and that doesn’t include Carlik Jones, who had a triple double in an exhibition against the USA. Almost upsetting the United States should only add to the confidence of South Sudan, a country that is playing with house money at this stage.
Puerto Rico Betting Preview
Puerto Rico is in the men’s basketball Olympics for the first time since 2004 and carries a 34-48 record all time. Puerto Rico is coached by Nelson Colon, a four-time BSN champion and three-time BSN Coach of the Year. The star of team Puerto Rico is the only NBA player in Jose Alvarado, who is a scrappy, emotional leader who makes everything on this team work. The rest of this Puerto Rican roster includes Arnaldo Toro, who was just the LBL MVP. Gian Clavell was the 2017 MWC player of the year. Jordan Howard was a first-team All-Southland secretion three times at Central Arkansas. Tremont Waters has been an elite defensive payer since his college days and Chris Ortiz is the captain of the team who does a bit of everything. Puerto Rico is a group that plays with a lot of heart and won’t go down easily.
South Sudan vs Puerto Rico Prediction
This should be a fun game between two feisty teams that are looking to make the most of things. South Sudan is here for the first time, and Puerto Rico is making its first appearance in a decade. One club has a chance to do more than saying they’re just happy to be here. I originally leaned toward South Sudan because of the size advantage, but Puerto Rico is just all heart and in a game that does feel like a toss up, that willingness to just find a way could be the tipping point. This feels like a game that could have Alvarado’s fingerprints all over it, and he just wills Puerto Rico to a win.
I’ll grab the point with the Puerto Ricans.