The New Zealand women's basketball side has begun the final touches of their Olympic preparation with a 71-63 loss to Belarus in Beijing.
It's the Tall Ferns' first competitive outing since early June.
Belarus finished fourth at last year's European Championships and earned a spot in Beijing through the repechage tournament in June.
Point guard Angela Marino led New Zealand's scoring effort with 15 points.
The Tall Ferns have another practice game scheduled against Brazil later in the week and hope to arrange a third, possibly another against Belarus.
