Germany has upset defending champion Russia, 76-73, on the second day of the European basketball championship in Poland.

Jan-Hendrik Jagla scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Germany Tuesday in Gdansk. Russia was on the court with only three players from the team that upset Spain in the 2007 final. Russia fell behind early and trailed by double digits for most of the game, before pulling within one point with just under two minutes to play.

But Heiko Schaffartzik hit a three-point basket for Germany, which held on for its first win in Group B. Germany is without U.S. National Basketball Association star Dirk Nowitzki. In other action, point guard Tony Parker scored 23 points to lead France past Latvia, 60-51, to top Group B with two wins.

Mindaugas Lukauskis (l) of Lithuania and Poland’s Marcin Gortat during their EuroBasket 2009, European Basketball Championships group D match in Wroclaw, 08 Sep 2009
Mindaugas Lukauskis (l) of Lithuania and Poland’s Marcin Gortat during their EuroBasket 2009, European Basketball Championships group D match in Wroclaw, 08 Sep 2009
In Group C in Warsaw, a young Serbia looked nothing like the squad that stunned world champion Spain on Monday, falling to Slovenia 80-69. Forward Bostjan Nachbar led Slovenia with 17 points and six rebounds, while point guard Goran Dragic chipped in with 16 points as Slovenia improved to 2-0. Spain topped Britain, 84-76.

In Group A at Poznan, Macedonia slipped past Israel, 82-79. Greece improved to 2-0 with a 76-68 win over Croatia.

Host traditional power Lithuania continued to struggle in Group D, losing 86-75 to host Poland in Wroclaw. Turkey cruised to an easy 94-66 win over Bulgaria.

– By VOA News