PODGORICA (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017) - Wasted leads, a late game-winning three-pointer for an upset and dominant performances from reigning champions Spain, hosts Montenegro and Germany highlighted Day 1 of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017.

The promoted side Israel fit the first two criteria as they couldn't hold a 15-point lead but then pulled off the first surprise of the tournament by beating Croatia 67-64 on a late three-pointer by Amit Aharoni. The son of Israeli coach Oren Aharoni knocked down Israel's 10th three-pointer of the game with 2.3 seconds left for the win in Group A. Deni Avdija and Raziel Hayun both scored 16 points for the winners while Matej Rudan tallied 18 points for the three-time champions Croatia.

The other Group A game also saw a wasted lead as Serbia fought back from 11 points down and survived a nightmare shooting performance in beating Lithuania 56-54 in a battle of giants. Serbia missed all 19 of their three-pointers but made 20-of-35 free throws compared to 9-of-17 free throws for Lithuania, who also turned the ball over 21 times. Djordje Pazin was held in check scoring wise with just nine points but the Serbian guard did add eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Marek Blazevic's 13 points and nine rebounds were not enough for Lithuania.

France lost a 14-point lead but finished with a 10-0 run to knock off Italy 64-59 in Group C. Killian Hayes iced the game with two free throws with 9 seconds left and finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while Theo Maledon also scored 15 points in the win. Italy got 15 points and seven assists from Nico Mannion.

In the other Group C game, Russia started the tournament strong and built a 21-point lead before holding on to beat Estonia 74-71. Dmitrii Kadoshnikov paced four Russians in double figures with 13 points and added 10 rebounds while Viktor Lakhin chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Estonia wasted a 30-point performance from Kerr Kriisa in the loss.

In Group D, reigning champions Spain had little trouble with Latvia as Jaime Pradilla had a double-double in the first half and ended with 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 91-70 drubbing. Pradilla's production came in 21 minutes while Golden Dike had 14 points in 12 minutes and Ruben Lopez collected 12 points and 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Group D also saw the hosts Montenegro roll past Sweden 77-45 as Stefan Vlahovic collected 16 points and Bojan Tomasevic picked up 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Group B also saw a blowout as Germany got 18 points from Luc Van Slooten and 17 points from Timo Lanmuller in an 87-65 win over Turkey. The victory was overshadowed by an injury to leader Kay Bruhnke, who went to hospital with a left ankle injury. Also grabbing a win in Group B were Slovenia, who beat Finland 65-53 paced by 22 points from Gregor Glas and 19 from Rok Radovic. 

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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