South Sudan’s basketball team has made history by becoming the first African side to win their opening match against a non-African team, defeating Puerto Rico 90-79.

This victory came just hours after South Sudan’s men’s basketball team expressed feeling “disrespected” at their Olympic debut when the Paris Games organizers played the wrong anthem at the start of the game.

Fans from both teams booed, and South Sudanese players were visibly upset as the incorrect national anthem played for nearly 20 seconds before their match with Puerto Rico on Sunday.

Instead of South Sudan’s “South Sudan Oyee” anthem, organisers mistakenly played the national anthem of neighbouring Sudan. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in a 2011 referendum following years of civil war and disputes over their shared borders, as well as natural resources, continued to result in clashes between the two nations.

Puerto Rico, a major basketball team with an international reputation, were the natural favorites to beat the East Africans, who were making their very first appearance at the Olympic Games.

This win comes a week after South Sudan nearly beat basketball powerhouses the United States in a friendly. The Americans edged the contest by a single point (101-100) after being pushed all the way by South Sudan, whose players include NBA athletes.

South Sudan’s opening win at the Olympics is being praised as a historic achievement, marking the end of a long drought for African nations in men’s basketball. The last time an African team won a basketball game in the Olympics was in 1996.