The European leg of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers got underway on Friday night with Eurobasket champions Slovenia getting their campaign off on a winning note in Group A against Belarus.
Vlatko Čančar had 20 points as the European champions captured an 87-74 win in Ljubljana.
Despite not fielding a single player from the recent Eurobasket, Spain were still able to get a 79-66 road win over Montenegro in the other Group A clash.
Inspired by the hot shooting of Fenerbahce guard Melih Mahmutoglu, Turkey overcame Latvia 85-73 in Group B. Mahmutoglu posted 24 points on 6/10 shooting from three-point land as the Turks got off to a winning start.
Lithuania recovered from a slow start to overcome minnows Kosovo 99-61 on the road in Group C.
With the game tied at 35-35 at halftime, Lithuania found their rhythm to start the third, starting on a 10-0 run and eventually putting themselves out of sight and securing a comfortable win. Adas Juskevicius led the Lithuanians with 16 points.
There were notable upsets on opening night as Bosnia & Herzegovina edged Russia 81-76 and Netherlands beat Croatia 78-71.
Other scores:
Group A: Montenegro 66-79 Spain; Slovenia 87-74 Belarus
Group B: Turkey 85-73 Latvia; Sweden 76-84 Ukraine
Group C: Poland 70-60 Hungary; Kosovo 61-99 Lithuania
Group D: Netherlands 68-61 Croatia; Italy 75-70 Romania
Group E: Bosnia & Herzegovina 81-76 Russia; Belgium 59-70 France
Group F: Bulgaria 80-82 Finland; Czech Republic 89-69 Iceland
Group G: Germany 79-70 Georgia; Serbia 85-64 Austria
Group H: Israel 88-68 Estonia; Great Britain 92-95 Greece