MANILA (Philippines) - Debutants South Sudan showed they are for real as they gave Puerto Rico a major fight before succumbing in overtime in their opener at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Carlik Jones was a massive force only to see his 35 points and 11 assists go unrewarded for the Bright Stars.

Jones connected on 13-of-23 shots including 4-of-9 from deep to go with 8-of-9 free throws for his 35 points. To go with that, the point guard grabbed 6 rebounds and swiped 4 steals for an efficiency of 40 in a 101-96 loss in overtime. The best efficiency so far in the competition.

About his outstanding stats, Jones said: "That's good, but we're here to win, and we need to focus on that."

The guard said the African side still has to learn about finishing a game at the highest level.

 "We can't relax. We can't stop playing until the clock reads zero. But sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. All we can do is keep playing for each other and follow our game-plan," Jones said.

Jones' impressive showing did not go lost on his opponents.

"Man, he had 35? Oh man. He's tough, you know. He can get to the rim, he can attack, and he can shoot off the dribble. All credit to him, but we have to be better on defense, but he's a great player," said Puerto Rico power forward Isaiah Pineiro.

FIBA