Turkey led by a single point halfway through the match at Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao. 

Ukraine edged into a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter, and eventually secured a 64-58 win.

They won the match despite the absence of Sergii Gladyr, who was still recovering from an ankle injured suffered during his team's defeat to Finland on Sunday (August 31).

But that was not enough to unsettle a well drilled Ukrainian side.

"We are a team of 12 players," said coach Mike Fratello.

"We need each of them to step up for each other.

"We didn't have Gladyr tonight and Pooh (Jeter) had an off day.

"So we had to call upon our bench to deliver - which they did."

Ukraine now have two wins from three, while Turkey have one win from three.

The United States have kept their title defence firmly on track with a convincing win over New Zealand ©AFP/Getty Images



The second match of the day in Bilbao saw defending champions the United States beat New Zealand 98-71, while action in the Bizkaia Arena ended with Dominican Republic beating Finland 74-68.

At the Gran Canaria Arena, in Las Palmas, Mexico overcame Angola 79-55, while Australia did all the hard work in the first half of their 82-75 victory over Lithuania.

Slovenia ended the day's action on the island with a 89-72 win over South Korea.

Play continues tomorrow with 12 games, including hosts Spain against France and Serbia versus Brazil.

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