NANJING (China) - Brazil rallied in the second half and scraped by Greece, 79-78, to rise to the top of Group F and book their spot in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

Greece had a strong start in this game as the led by as many as 17 points in the first half, thanks mainly to great play from the backcourt of Kostas Sloukas and Nick Calathes. Their biggest star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was hampered by foul trouble throughout the game, making only one field goal in the entire first half and finishing with a total of 13 points when he fouled out late in the fourth quarter. 'The Greek Freak' found the going tough against the defense of pesky Brazilian guard Alex Garcia and the long-limbed Bruno Caboclo.

Brazil leaned on its veterans to make their offense hum in this game, with Garcia's aggressive drives and Marquinhos Sousa's accurate shooting helping them turn the tables in the second half.

Turning Point: Brazil looked well on their way to the upset, leading by five points with 48 seconds to go in the game until Rafa Luz turned the ball over and was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. Kostas Papanikolaou's free-throws trimmed the deficit to three, and soon after Georgios Printezis found himself wide open and tied the count at 76-all with a booming triple.

That was when the two-man magic of Leandro Barbosa and Anderson Varejao kicked in. Barbosa found Varejao barreling down the lane and in the ensuing play, and the big man did not disappoint, hitting a huge lay-up for a 78-76 lead. A botched inbounds play on the other end led to Antetokounmpo's final foul and an insurance free-throw from Barbosa.

A foolish foul by Didi Louzada gave Greece life in the final seconds as Slouokas trooped to the free-throw line for three charities, but he was good for only 2-of-3 shooting. Thereafter, the Brazilians danced the samba as the Greeks slumped in agony.

TCL Player of the Game: Anderson Varejao was a tower of power for Brazil, especially in the third quarter when they turned a 10-point half-time deficit into a three-point lead entering the fourth period. Varejao finished with a sublime stat-line of 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists on 10-of-17 field goal shooting.

Stats Don't Lie: Turnovers killed Greece. Hellas committed 16 turnovers that led to 18 points-off-turnovers for the Brazlians, and the Greeks, despite having the Antetokounmpo's presence, were severely outscored in the paint, 46-28.

Bottom Line: Greece certainly had the size and talent to dominate this matchup on paper, but the Brazilians proved that games are won and lost on the floor. Despite falling behind big, Brazil cut Greece's lead down bit by bit until momentum swung their way. The prize for Brazil? An outright berth in the Second Round, while the Greeks will have to bounce back and beat New Zealand on Thursday to advance.

They Said: "This a historical game for Brazil. Brazil hosted the 2016 Olympics and didn't have success, so today's game is huge for Brazil. A quick start in the third quarter helped us take control of the game." - Brazil head coach Aleksandar Petrovic

"He [Giannis Antetokounmpo] is taller than me, but when he brings the ball down, I am bigger than him. It was tough to defend him because he is super athletic, but I am happy that won and he fouled out." - Brazil guard Alex Garcia

"It was a bad game for us. We believe that we have the strength to go to the second round, but we lost our focus in the defense. We allowed too many points to their big men." - Greece head coach Thanasis Skourtopoulos

"We didn't play our best game today. We had a 10-point lead at half-time, but we wasted it. Its’ not a loss that take us out of the competition, but we have to focus on our next game." - Greece forward Ioannis Papapetrou

FIBA