The men's team are on course to hold on to their European title after they made it three wins from three games, conjuring up another convincing win with a plus 20-point margin of victory against the Belgians.

They were made to battle hard for their victory though, as both teams went basket-for-basket before star man Gaz Choudhry came on to act as the catalyst for GB, firing them on to a 22-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But Great Britain's knack of racing into a lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing their opponents a route back in looked to have returned when Belgium came out fighting in the second quarter, eating away at their deficit to the point where they were just four points behind at one stage in the period, though Britain salvaged a nine-point lead at the half-time interval.

Belgium were down but not out, and clawed the score back to 60-51 in the third quarter to ensure a nervy finish for the in-form Britons.

The British team held their nerve however in a feisty affair, putting in a formidable final quarter performance to secure an 81-59 win.

British head coach, Haj Bhania said: "It was a tough game.

"I thought Belgium came out really well prepared, they have a good coach.

"We had to weather the storm as they came out at us quite hard, but we know teams out here want to beat us.

"A close game is a good one, it gives us an idea of where we are and makes us play.

"It was a really gutsy performance, everyone wanted to work for each other and that's what came out in the end.

"It took a lot for us to break them down but we got there and it got us the result we wanted"

Top scorer Terry Bywater said: "It was a tough physical game today. We've got to realise that this European Championships is going to be harder than Israel because everyone wants to beat us because we are the reigning champions, but we stuck together and it was another great performance.

"It is always nice to shoot well, but we had three or four people that were scoring and it shows that the changes we are making are working and it's all good progress."

Youngster Charlotte Moore opened her European Championships account as GB's women's team took back-to-back wins

The women's team also carried their momentum from their opening game demolition of Italy to show their superiority against Turkey, and they took little time in racing into a clear lead of 14 points after just minutes, carrying a 19-5 lead into the second quarter.

Turkey showed signs of life however when they scored six unanswered points and Britain began to look shaky, but two baskets from Helen Freeman gave them plenty of breathing room at the conclusion of the second quarter as they led 34-15.

And the game was sufficiently killed off by the British in the third quarter as tactical decisions paid dividends, securing them an all-but unassailable 52-27 lead going into the final quarter.

Turkey took the final quarter but it was mere consolation as they found themselves on the end of a 60-43 defeat at full time.

GB women's coach, Nigel Smith, said, "The Turkish team played very well, which was good for us as it put us under more pressure.

"We had some very good periods but unfortunately we had some very poor periods as well, towards the end they must have scored 6 points and we didn't score any.

"We are a bit disappointed, so we've got to pick the girls up and get ready for tomorrow's important match against the Dutch."

Top scorer Amy Conroy said: "I think we had some ups and downs during the game.

"It always seems to happen that against the teams that are a little weaker than you, that you let your concentration slip and that happened a couple of times during the game today.

"Tomorrow will be the big game for us against the Dutch, so we are going to forget about our performance today and concentrate on tomorrow"

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