RIO DE JANEIRO—That might have been the game, the dramatic and electric and unexpected comeback, that propels Canada’s Olympic basketball team to unprecedented heights.

It could be the win that awakens the country, the triumph that pays gigantic dividends as the Rio 2016 tournament unfolds, the “holy smokes” moment of their lives.

Down 18 points in the third quarter, unable to get untracked anywhere on the court, the Canadians came storming back, ultimately registering a 71-67 win over 2015 European champion Serbia thanks to a series of late-game heroics that was as dramatic a basketball finish as any fan could ever want.

It was a trio of the relative kids — Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, Miah-Marie Langlois and Kia Nurse — and one of the old hands Kim Gaucher who gave greater life to the team’s medal hopes and should propel them deeper into the national consciousness.

“When we play in desperation mode, which we were playing in today, that’s when we’re really, really good,” Nurse said. “And that showed.”

It may not have been as emotionally draining as, say, the Canadian soccer team’s loss to the United States four years ago in London, but it could be equally important in turning this group in the country’s darlings as the Games roll on.

A Gaucher three-pointer from the corner, a Raincock-Ekunwe three-point play, a Langlois dagger of a three with less than 10 seconds left and Nurse’s brilliance in a 25-point effort is the stuff on which reputations are built.

“We aren’t that used to being down, we’ve had a lot of wins over the last two summers and Lisa (Thomaidis, the team’s coach) told us we have to be conscious if we’re down, to just have extra energy and extra motivation, so that’s something we’re really conscious of on the bench.”

There were indeed moments of desperation for the Canadians, who could not solve Serbia at either end of the court for the first two and a half quarters. Canada threw the ball all over the place — 19 turnovers in all; they couldn’t slow a perimeter-based offence, and they were dead in the water down 18 points.

But Thomaidis found a smaller, quicker lineup that was effective and Canada bamboozled Serbia with fourth-quarter full-court pressure.

And then the big plays started coming in rapid succession in the final three minutes.

Gaucher’s three, Raincock-Ekunwe’s rebound in traffic that became a three-point play to give Canada a lead.

“You know what, my teammates just told me ‘Go out there and rebound. Own the boards,’ ” Raincock-Ekunwe said. “I just got in a good position and it just worked out perfectly.”

Then there was Nurse’s calm leadership all over the floor and, finally, Langlois’s game-sealer, her only basket of the day.

“I made the shot and I was thinking ‘Man, I gotta go back on defence,’ ” Langlois said. “But then the buzzer went off and I look over at Kia, and Kia’s already screaming, everyone’s jumping up and down.”

The importance of the victory will become more apparent as the five-game preliminary round grinds on. The top four teams in the group advance to the quarter-finals and now having a 2-0 record with games left against Senegal, the United States and Spain is exponentially better than being 1-1.

“Regardless of anything with respect to the Olympics, to beat the European champions from last year is massive,” Thomaidis said. “Throw in the fact we did it at the Olympic Games and it’s huge for us.

“Really proud of this team.”

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