For two sets which passed in a blur of red, China were looking like certain winners of the women's World Grand Champions Cup.
Even though this was only the opening match of the six-team, 15-game schedule, China had silenced Brazil by romping to the first two sets, 25-15, 25-17, at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium yesterday.
Captain and setter Feng Kun was in complete control of her battery of power spikers, and the Chinese attackers were forming an orderly queue to smash their way through Brazil's flimsy defence.
A straight-sets victory looked on the cards in what was regarded as China's toughest match, as the four remaining teams are South Korea, the United States, Poland and Japan. China, the defending champions of this quadrennial competition, must have thought it was over, too, as they allowed Brazil to gain some momentum and with it some fire and determination.
And once the Brazilians hit their stride there isn't a lot anyone can do about it, including the reigning Olympic champions and world number one China.
Brazil pulled back two sets, 25-20, 25-20, to take the match into a fifth-set tiebreak, and from 7-7 they surged clear to win it 15-8 and start their campaign with an unlikely but, in the end, thoroughly deserved victory.
This opening match had the look of a final about it from the moment the schedule was announced, and China must now wait for Brazil to make a mistake if they are to recover from this early defeat.