Britain, who claimed bronze at the Paralympics in Rio in September and beat Turkey 87-66 in the 2015 final on home soil in Worcester, defeated Sweden 79-56 in Group A.

Philip Pratt, Lee Manning and Ghazain Choudhry were all in stunning form in front of the basket, scoring 16, 14 and 12 points respectively, 

In the other matches in Group A, Germany beat Lithuania 63-41 while Turkey thrashed Israel 90-37.

There were only two matches in Group B after hosts Spain, who lost out to the United States in the final at Rio 2016, defeated Switzerland last night.

Both proved to be fascinating battles with Poland edging The Netherlands 61-58 while Italy just overcame France 59-57. 

Germany are the defending champions in the women's event and they opened up with a win against Britain.

It proved to be a difficult match for the Germans but they did eventually manage to sneak a 45-43 win.

In the only other women's match today, The Netherlands claimed a 59-30 win over France.

As well as continental glory, places at the 2018 IWBF World Championships in Hamburg are also up for grabs, with the best six men's teams reaching the German city.

Only one women's team will fail to qualify.

Matches are being played at the Pabellón Las Torres and Pabellón Polideportivo Municipal de Adeje venues.

The competitions will conclude on June 30.