KAUNAS (2015 U16 European Championship) - Jaylen Hoard stepped forward in the big moment to secure France's place in the Second Round of the U16 European Championship in Kaunas, Lithuania on Friday.

A 7-0 fourth-quarter run had brought France back into contention having trailed against Montenegro in their Group D meeting.

The teams then traded baskets in the closing minutes before Hoard provided the decisive tip-in with just 18 seconds remaining to book France's place in the Second Round with a 64-62 triumph.

Elsewhere in Group D, Croatia got off the mark with a wire-to-wire 77-64 defeat of Latvia, which leaves Latvia in need of a victory against France on Saturday, if they are to have any chance of progressing.

Hosts Lithuania secured their Second Round berth after holding Greece to just two points in the third quarter.

The Baltic power scored 24 points without reply to seize complete control as Lukas Uleckas led the charge with 18 points to ensure his team advanced, and they could yet claim top spot in Group B with another success against Israel on Saturday.

Spain saved their best for last to avoid an upset against Israel.

The Spanish trailed 74-73 with 2:48 remaining before Miguel Gonzalez and Raimon Carrasco Sagrista connected on back-to-back three-pointers to kick-start an 11-4 Spanish run to close the game and seal an 84-77 success.

Bosnia and Herzegovina built on their impressive Day 1 display as they also made sure of a place in the next phase.

Paced once again by the exceptional Dzanan Musa, who tallied 23 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists, the Bosnians built up a healthy first-half advantage against Italy before eventually prevailing 77-65.

The other game in Group C saw Finland hold their nerve down the stretch to edge Serbia 70-65, and claim a first win, which pushes them closer to joining Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next phase.

Onuralp Bitim poured in 30 points as Turkey overcame England 91-77 in the three-team Group A to get their campaign off to a winning start, having sat out on Thursday.

Go to http://u16men.fibaeurope.com/en/default.asp for full coverage of the 2015 U16 European Championship.

FIBA