Meanwhile Slovak Republic racked up their first victory at the second attempt with a stunning final quarter in Switzerland helping them secure a 60-52 success. They outscored the hosts 20-6 in the last ten minutes as Radoslav Rancik claimed 12 points and 9 rebounds.

There is just no stopping Division B new boys Azerbaijan as they hung on to their perfect start to life in the second tier with another victory, this time perhaps their most impressive.

The Azeris claimed a 101-86 victory on the road in Romania with a strong second half making the difference as Rashim Basak tore it up in Timisoara with a monstrous 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Equally impressive, although ultimately in vain was the work of Romanian forward Titus Nicoara who poured in 21 points and pulled down 15 rebounds but the home team couldn't build on their win against Sweden.

The Scandinavians themselves bounced back from defeat in Romania with a 111-64 demolition of Albania who felt the backlash and were always going to struggle that little bit more without the influential Ermal Kuqo. It was NBA man Jonas Jerebko who filled his boots with glee as he powered his way to 24 points and 14 rebounds, only missing out on a rare triple double by 3 assists.

Finally in Group A, Netherlands remain unbeaten after they overturned a 13 point half-time deficit against Austria and held the visitors to just 16 second half points to complete a hard fought 63-60 win. Young guns Henk Norel and Rasid Mahalbasic both excelled for their respective teams with double-doubles. Norel had 25 points and 14 rebounds while Mahalbasic finished with 18 points and 11 boards.

Finally, Estonia claimed their first win of the campaign with a comfortable 93-69 home victory against Luxembourg as Joosep Toome recorded an impressive 18 points and 7 rebounds.