Coming from a 0-2 record, it was a nervous start for the Opals, missing their first four shots and Puerto Rico getting the first eight points on the board for the game. Steph Talbot was missing from the Opals line up out with an injury, the same issue that kept her out of game one of the tournament.

A big three point shot from Leilani Mitchell finally got the Opals going, just under three minutes into the game. The Opals needed to lift defensively, allowing Puerto Rico too much space to score and took the lead to a 15-8 deficit with 5:30 left in the period.

Marianna Tolo made her presence known, quick to add to her points and having a terrific impact on the opening quarter coming off the bench with seven points in the first period.

Jenna O’Hea shot an important three pointer with 30 seconds left of the clock only to be immediately answered by Puerto Rico to take the score to 22-24 at the first break.

Puerto Rico came out aggressively again to restart the match, but Cayla George was quick in response, getting her first score on the board with a three, her teammates ensuring they could get the offensive rebound with three Australians ready in the paint.

But the Australians continued to struggle, Puerto Rico a more polished side than their previous performances in the Olympic tournament, but captain Jenna O’Hea seemed determined to keep the Opals in the game off her own shooting with another critical three-point shot.

Coming off the bench, Tessa Lavey got her first points of the Games with an essential three points, putting Australia in front for the first time in the match, 35-33. But Puerto Rico were not going to let the Opals get a run on their scoring, quick to level the score again at 37 a piece.

Both teams maintained their intensity, scoring continuing at both ends of the court, but the Opals remained unlucky with missing shots and slips defensively, Australia holding on to a narrow lead going into the main break 45-44.

Needing a big scoring chance in the first half, George was first to the basket for Australia, the sense of urgency appearing to go up a notch. However, Puerto Rico were expecting the lift from the Opals, keeping the margin to just a few points for the third quarter until the Australian defence and shooting finally lifted, pushing the lead out to 68-52 at the last break.

The Opals needed a big final 10 minutes of play, they needed to win by 25 points to make it through to the quarter finals, or, score 64 or more and win by 24 points.

Australia wasn’t going to go down without a fight, some quick scoring pushing out the lead. But Puerto Rico were determined to shoot down an Opals finals chance, keeping the margin within 20 points for most of the final term.

That famous Opals spirit came out to play with seven minutes on the clock, Marianna Tolo putting up a total 26 points, 17 rebounds and four assists alongside Cayla George’s 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

It was Tessa Lavey who finally sealed the deal for the Opals with a two-point shot, not just a win, but a quarter-finals berth pushing the margin out to 24 points with 1:24 left on the clock. Leilani Mitchell and Jenna O’Hea put up the final points to seal the epic comeback and a 26-point victory.

Speaking after the game, Tolo hailed the team spirit against a determined Puerto Rico side.

“Look, it’s been such a battle to get to this point.” Tolo said.

“There has been so much going on and we are just so proud of how we fought tonight.

“We didn’t come out how we wanted to and even just to fight back in the second half and take control of the game and win it just from those two quarters, it’s just unbelievable.

“Credit to them (Puerto Rico), they played hard all game and they came here and were unfortunate not to get a win and you could tell they really wanted one tonight.

“For us, we were a bit bigger than them so we took advantage of that. That meant going to me and Cayla and Ezi and I think that was the difference in the game.

“It’s a credit to all the team, we had a lot of different contributors in there. It’s a fresh start now. We are into the quarter finals, and anything can happen so we are all really excited for that.”

Head Coach Sandy Brondello credited a full squad effort, despite a slow start.

“We are obviously very relieved. It was not the way we wanted to start. I asked Cayla before, 'what happened in that first quarter' as we just didn’t come out with the energy we needed, we weren’t as aggressive as we had spoken about.

“We made some adjustments and went to our bench, and I think that really helped us, they are a very experienced group and found the energy and we started making shots. I think we just wore them down.”

The Opals will now meet the pre-Games favourites the United States in a tough quarter-final on Wednesday. The US have won three from three in Tokyo but the Aussies will give themselves a real chance. The Americans haven't been dominant in their pool games beating France by 11 in their more recent game.

Shannon Knaus

#HaveAGo at Basketball