SAO PAULO, Brazil _ The government suspended a regulation and allowed the Lithuanian basketball team to enter Brazil for the women's World Championship on Tuesday although the players weren't inoculated for yellow fever, the health ministry said.

After diplomatic negotiations, the players were vaccinated and allowed to enter the country even though they didn't complete the mandatory 10-day quarantine, said Dirciara Gracie, director of Sanitary Control and Guidance for Travelers at the ministry in Brasilia.

The team was taken to the northeastern city of Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River, where health agents determined that the chance that they had contracted yellow fever was "very small," she said by telephone.

Because of the delay, Lithuania was unable to reach Sao Paulo in time for its scheduled 5:30 p.m. (20:30 GMT) tipoff against Australia.

Australia was awarded the victory by forfeit, tournament spokeswoman Fernanda Lorenzo said.

"The Lithuanians won't arrive until 9:50 p.m. (00:50 GMT)," she said. "The Australians will go on the court as scheduled and remain there for about 15 minutes before they are declared the winners by walkover and pick up two points."

The Lithuanian team will play its first game on Wednesday, when it meets Canada at 5:30 p.m. (20:30 GMT).

The women's team had been practicing on the Caribbean island of Martinique and left Sunday for Brazil, with a stopover in French Guyana after its direct flight to Sao Paulo was canceled.

Vaccination is mandatory for visitors from countries where the disease is present, like French Guyana.

"This was a special case, maybe because it's a world championship, and the rules were bent," said a press officer at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry who asked not to be identified.

Lithuania is one of the 16 qualifiers for the championship, which ends September 23. The 1997 European champion is among the favorites for the title, having finished third in the past two World Championships in 2002 and 1998.