Armenia stunned Sweden with an explosive fourth quarter effort to secure a 82-69 win in their Group A clash in Yerevan.
The win keeps Armenia unbeaten in pool play, while dropping the heavily fancied Swedes to 1-1. Ryan Boatright led the Armenians with 23 points on 50 percent shooting as they overturned a narrow 58-56 deficit at the end of the third quarter to dominating the early stages of the final period by holding Sweden to a single field goal in the first four minutes of the fourth.
From there, Armenia led by eight and the advantage kept growing.
The other Group A clash saw Bosnia & Herzegovina secure their first win of the pre-qualifying campaign as they defeated Slovak Republic 84-71 in Sarajevo.
The Bosnians were slow to get going but they eventually found their stride in the second quarter and their class shone through. Dzanan Musa led all scorers with an impressive 32-point haul.
The Slovakians fall to 0-2 in Group A.
In Group B, Netherlands themselves overcame a slow start to beat Austria 79-72 on the road. Veteran Worthy De Jong led the Dutch with 22 points.
Toronto Raptors big man Jakob Poltl led Austria with 24 points and five rebounds.
Estonia handed FYR of Macedonia their second loss of the qualifying campaign with a narrow 80-76 win in the Macedonian capital Skopje.
Rain Veideman led Estonia with 26 points as they open their Group C fixtures with a win.
Bulgaria went 2-0 in Group D as they eased past Belarus 78-68 in Botevgrad in the pool’s only game.
The winners shot 44 percent from the field as Pavel Marinov led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds.
