The Canadians had led Australia 46-36 at the halfway point of their Group B clash in Greek city Heraklion, only for the Boomers to roar back to 58-58 by the end of the third quarter.

However, Canada recovered their composure to see out an 81-76 win at Heraklion University Sports Hall, helped by 23-point hauls from AJ Lawson and Karim Mane.

Lawson was also top of the charts for rebounds, while Joel Brown laid on five assists.

Canada are hoping to become just the second team to win back-to-back titles, the only team to have achieved that being the United States on two occasions.

Elsewhere in Group B, Mali got their campaign under way with a comfortable 93-79 win over Latvia.

Abdoul Karim Coulibaly scored a game-high 22 points for the African side, who had not won at the competition since 2007.

In Group D, Serbia hammered China 106-57 and France eased to a 91-68 success against Puerto Rico.

Lithuania were just six points ahead of Senegal at the halfway stage of their Group A encounter, but a third-quarter 27-8 blitz helped the Europeans charge to a 76-52 triumph.

United States thumped New Zealand 111-71 thanks in part to 20 points from Reggie Perry.

Argentina needed overtime to beat Russia 86-84 in a dramatic encounter in Group C.

Francisco Caffaro split two free throws for the South Americans with 4.3 seconds remaining, meaning the game was locked at 76-76.

But Argentina held their nerve in overtime, Aleksandr Ershov’s 22 points providing little consolation for Russia.

Greece eased past the Philippines 85-69.

Group phase action is due to continue tomorrow.