Midway through the first full week of the 2024 Olympics, in an arena in Lille, France, it was impossible to ignore the number of fans cheering for Puerto Rico. The women’s basketball team had just lost a preliminary round game to Spain, but not for lack of fan appreciation.

It was all for a nation that, technically, was not a country.

“The support that we always get from Puerto Rico and just all around the world, we’ve experienced this almost every tournament we’ve been to,” Puerto Rican player Arella Guirantes told reporters. “Just the fans and their connection with us, they really drive us and make us just want to leave it all out there on the floor.”