PODGORICA (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017) - Day 2 of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 witnessed an instant classic as hosts Montenegro came back to beat reigning champions Spain in a group of results which otherwise had much of the same feeling as the opening day with France needing a late rally to win and Israel pulling off another surprise.

The highlight of the day was hosts Montenegro taking on title-holders Spain at the Sports Center Moraca and the game lived up to the billing. Montenegro reversed a 16-point deficit and won 77-76 in a game filled with big plays including two lead changes in the final 42 seconds. Stefan Vlahovic scored 20 points; Jovan Kljajic had 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals; and Bojan Tomasevic added 11 points, including the game-deciding three-pointer. Santiago Aldama paced the Spanish with 18 points while Borja Fernandez had 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

The other Group D game saw Latvia enter the win column with a 58-48 victory over Sweden thanks to 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals from Ojars Berzins. Sweden dropped to 0-2 despite 3 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals from Erik Kall.

France once again saved the Group C heroics for late as Killian Hayes scored 10 points in a final 15-4 run including the coast-to-coast layup with three seconds left for a 63-61 win over Russia for a 2-0 record. Hayes ended up with 18 points and Theo Maledon added 15 points for France, who scored the final 10 points of the game to beat Italy in their tournament opener. Russia fell to 1-1 as 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists from Denis Kovalev were not enough. Grabbing their first win in Group C were Italy, who won a tough showdown with winless Estonia 70-64, paced by 17 points from Sasha Grant and 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals from Nico Mannion.

Group A is topped by Israel at 2-0 as the promoted team took down another big name in beating Serbia 79-71. Deni Avdija was close to a triple double with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists to go with 2 blocks and a steal. Raziel Hayun added 18 points for Israel, who beat Croatia to open the tournament. Djordje Pazin poured in 27 points in the loss for Serbia, who are 1-1 in the group.

Also at 1-1 are Lithuania, who eased past Croatia 63-42 with 10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals from Marek Blazevic. Croatia are 0-2 after not getting a scorer in double digits as Matej Rudan, Roko Gizdavic and Sandro Rasic all had 9 points.

The leaders of Group B at 2-0 are Slovenia who forced 24 turnovers in beating Germany 68-56 as Rok Radovic, Ziga Samar and Gregor Glas combined for 44 points. Germany, who beat Turkey by 22 points in the opening game, got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Radii Caisin. Turkey also moved to 1-1 with an 84-73 victory over winless Finland. Mustafa Kurtuldum led the way with 19 points. Mustapha Amzil picked up 10 points and 10 rebounds for Finland.

You can follow how the day's play unfolded on Live Updates, and check out full replays on YouTube.com/FIBA.

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