South Sudan Nearly Upsets US in Pre-Olympic Thriller

South Sudan, ranked 33rd in the FIBA world rankings, almost stunned the top-ranked US men's basketball team with a narrow 101-100 loss in London. The match underscores the growing competitiveness in international basketball as the Paris Olympics commence this week.

US Coach Steve Kerr highlighted the unpredictable nature of international competitions, stating, "There's great teams all over the place and nothing is guaranteed at this point for USA Basketball." Kerr had to call a timeout with 20 seconds left to secure a winning play for LeBron James, reflecting the intensity and unpredictability of the game.

LeBron James acknowledged their limited practice time, citing, "A lot of these teams we're playing have been practicing either one month or months in advance... we're like maybe two weeks into it." Despite challenges, including South Sudan's impressive shooting, the Americans managed an 18-0 run in the second half.

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With a final pre-Olympic game against Germany on Monday, the US team faces an unpredictable tournament. As Stephen Curry said, "If we don't play our brand of basketball... we can be beat. We're not invincible." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)