Belarus overcome 18-point deficit to claim first victory at Brazil's expense

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Belarus took a page out of Canada's book as they erased an 18-point deficit to beat Brazil, 65-63, on Tuesday afternoon for their first win in the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament.

The Canadians overcame the exact same deficit to beat European champions Serbia on Monday. 

After dropping their first two games, it looked like a Brazil win was on the cards as the hosts raced out to a 28-16 advantage to end the first quarter. They took their biggest lead in great fashion as Joice Rodrigues drove to the basket, switched hands and scored while drawing Jelena Leuchanka's third foul. She converted the three-point play to make it a 38-20 game with 6:57 left in the first half.

Belarus didn't panic though and were within 40-35 by halftime. The game was up for grabs with the teams tied at 50 heading into the final quarter.

Despite their fans cheering them on, Brazil struggled to get any easy looks and were not scoring on contested shots either, while Leuchanka, Lindsey Harding and Tatyana Troina scored at key junctures down the stretch to get in the win column in Group A.

Turning Point: After Clarissa Santos edged Brazil in front 63-62, Belarus found the hot hand of Troina who buried a deep three-pointer from the right wing with 53 seconds to go for the final scoreline. 

Stats Don't Lie: After shooting 9-of-16 (56 percent) from the field in the first quarter, Brazil finished 22-of-65 (34 percent).

Hero: Troina came off the bench and made 5 of 7 three-point attempts and finished with a team-high 18 points.

The Bottom Line: At 0-3, Brazil must win both of their remaining games against France and Turkey and even that does not guarantee them a place in the Final Phase. Belarus took a bit of pressure off of themselves but still have their work cut out to ensure their spot in the Quarter-Finals, with clashes against Turkey and Australia to come.

FIBA