Elsewhere in Group C, Switzerland drew first blood as they returned from Nicosia having racked up a super 70-67 win against Cyprus. A double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds by Greg Brunner and 15 points and 6 rebounds by Oliver Vogt were the highlights as the visiting team held on in a nail-biting finish. Meanwhile Panagiotis Trisokkas recorded 16 points and 9 rebounds for the disappointed hosts.

Austria opened up their Division B campaign with an exciting 93-90 overtime success against Estonia as Jason Detrick poured in 27 points and Davor Lamesic sealed the game from the line.

Also in Group B, Netherlands tipped off their action this summer with an alogther more comfortable 94-73 win in Luxembourg thanks to a stunning display by Henk Norel who harvested a spectacular 34 points and 11 rebounds.

Romania and Azerbaijan both remain unbeaten at the top of Group B with two wins each after picking up victories over Belarus and Albania. A 32-20 first quarter and 30 points from Charles Davis set the tone for Azerbaijan as they squeezed out an 83-79 success in Baku while Romania hammered hosts Albania 93-74 after a blistering last ten minutes.

They outscored Albania 31-15 in the final quarter with Titus Nicoara claiming a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while Ermal Kuqo had 18 points for the home team.