Day two saw the co-hosts Hungary and Romania begin their campaigns and both end up on the losing side today despite glimpses of promise.
GROUP A
An 18-0 run from Montenegro that stretched from the second to third quarter saw them beat a gutsy Romania side 79-61 in Timisoara.
The Montenegrins remain unbeaten in their first two games of the group whereas Romania begin the tournament with a defeat.
Jelena Dubljevic led the winners with 19 points as Montenegro took complete control in the first half, leading 51-22 at the half and never looking back. Romania made a courageous go of it when the third quarter began but it was too much.
Czech Republic bounced back from their defeat on day one to record an 80-79 win over Ukraine in the other Group A game.
Katerina Elhotova had a team-high 23 points for the Czechs as they survived a late onslaught from a Ukraine side who still await their first win.
GROUP B
Greece opened their Eurobasket Women account with a defensive-minded 51-46 success over Italy in Oradea.
But by no means was this easy for the Greeks, who really struggled to get out of the blocks, trailing 18-2 early doors and a strong final period in the end settled matters.
Greece’s Aikaterina Sotiriou was pivotal scoring 13 points – the only player on her team to reach double figures – and provided many intangibles for her team, including hustle.
Group B though looks to be a race for second place as Belarus continue their dominance of the opening round play by beating Poland 65-49.
Katsiaryna Snytsina led the way with 13 points for the Belorussians.
GROUP C
Croatia defeated Latvia 67-63 in an exciting battle in Szombathely as Iva Sliskovic came up with what proved to be a game winning three-point play with less than a minute left.
Sliskovic ended with 15 points for the Croats as they keep Latvia winless.
In the other Group C clash, Russia look like one of the teams to beat in the tournament after they saw-off Great Britain convincingly 71-40.
Once Russia finished the opening period with a scorching 14-2 run, it left Great Britain with a mountain to climb. Aside from a brief renaissance either side of half-time, the gap only ever looked like widening and so it proved as the Brits struggled without Temi Fagbenle who was taken to hospital with an eye injury.
Teenage star Maria Vadeeva reiterated why she is one of the most highly rated young players in the women’s game with 13 points and eight rebounds.
GROUP D
Hosts Hungary looked on course for an opening day win for them before Sweden turned the tide and won 72-63 in Sopron.
Having led by as many as 16, and never behind, when Allie Quigley scored to make it 51-42 nearing the end of the third, the hosts looked strong. However, they would then fail to score until 4:40 left in the game, while Sweden scored 16 points to take control.
Frida Eldebrink led the Swedes with 28 points.
Lithuania’s woes continue as they lost to the Slovak Republic 85-79.
The Slovakians improve to 2-0, while Lithuania remain winless. Kristi Toliver. put on an accurate shooting display as she finished 6/10 from beyond the arc on her way to 23 points, whilst adding six assists.