Adriana Pinto leads Brazil to their first victory; Great Britain beaten 78-66 - London Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The Brazilian women basketball team edged their way past the host Great Britain in the London Olympics here on Sunday night to finish in second last place of Group B.
It was an easy win for the South Americans as they defeated their hosts 78-66 and were finally able to get their first in this year’s Olympics while team GB ended their campaign without having single victory under their belt.
The Brazilian scoring in the match was led by Erika Souza and Clarissa Dos Santos, both finishing off on the night with 16 points each while shooting the ball a combined 12 of 25.
But the star performance came from Adriana Pinto who notched up a double-double in the game with 15 points while dishing out 12 of the total 25 assists the South Americans had under their belt.
On the other hand, Natalie Stafford chipped in 15 points for team GB while Jo Leedham provided a supporting hand by recording 12 points.
The proceedings of the match started with Brazil racing out to a 5-0 lead but by the close of the first period, team GB were able to find their way back into the game to tie the scores up at 19 each.
In the second quarter both teams were able to equally match each other in the scoring department and the scores remained tied at 36 with only 1:24 remaining in the first half. However the South Americans had the last say before
heading into the interval, when Pinto stepped up to knock down a three pointer and giving Brazil a 39-36 lead at the break.
Pinto opened up the third quarter much like she ended the previous one, by connecting from long range thus starting a 10-3 run and giving Brazil a double figure lead in the ball game.
By the close of the third quarter, the Brazilian advantage had ballooned to 64-53.
Team GB were able to get some kind of consolation by being equally competitive in the fourth quarter but the Brazilians were able to ensure a victory as the outscored the hosts 14-13 in the period as well.
One of the main factors working in favour for the Brazilians was their ability to share the ball as they outmatched Great Britain 25-15 in the assist department. They also shot the ball 47.7% from the field while team GB could
only manage to convert 24 of their 70 attempts from the field. Both teams continued to crash the boards throughout the night but the South Americans held a minor advantage in that department as they out-rebounded Great Britain 43-40.
Tags: