ALLAN THE MAN

There's no such thing as a sure-bet in international hoops this summer as teams try to qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Time and time again, national sides have sprung upsets. It's happened in Asia, Africa, the Americas and on Friday, another major surprise happened in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at EuroBasket 2013.

France bounced back from their 14-point defeat to Lithuania by beating Latvia, 102-91.

Les Bleus punished Latvia for their weak interior defending in the first quarter by opening a 31-15 advantage with Alexis Ajinca pouring in eight of his game-high 25 points.

FIBA Eurobasket 2013: A whirlwind day at EuroBasket 2013 saw host Slovenia hand Italy their first defeat, while Croatia routed Finland and Greece prevailed in a thriller against Spain. (watch the game highlights videos here)

Meanwhile, Here's the Top 5 plays on September 12, 2013. Thursday's Group F games saw plenty of high-flying action - enjoy!

Greece rallied with a big fourth quarter to beat defending champion Spain 79-75 on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) in the second round of the European basketball championship.

Trailing by five at the end of three quarters, Greece outscored Spain 27-18 in the fourth to gain a win that could prevent Spain from winning a third consecutive title.

Latvia, Serbia and Lithuania opened the second phase of EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia with victories on Wednesday as teams tried to step up their bids to reach the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

LATVIA vs UKRAINE Game Highlights (VIDEO)

The Latvians lowered the boom on Ukraine in the first Group E game of the day, 85-51. The Baltic side, who finished third in Group B and carried no victories into the Second Round since none of the teams they beat advanced, got into a shooting rhythm early and opened a 24-11 lead.

Ukraine and Belgium on Monday clinched the last two spots on offer in Group A for the second phase of EuroBasket 2013.

On the final day of opening round action, Ukraine rolled to a big win over Great Britain and Germany defeated Israel, ensuring the Belgians would progress before they ran onto the floor to face the French.

FIBA EuroBasket 2013: Tony Parker's late show broke Ukraine's resistance and propelled France to a 77-71 victory on Sunday that puts them on the brink of qualifying for the Second Round of EuroBasket 2013. 

Previously unbeaten, Mike Fratello's side were emboldened by an early run and gave as good as they got for 33 minutes, shooting efficiently from the perimeter and putting Les Bleus under pressure.

Jeffery Taylor scored 25 points and Sweden upset Russia 81-62 for its first win at the European basketball championship on Saturday.

Russia, the Olympic bronze medalist last year and bronze medalist at the Europeans two years ago, now looks unlikely to make the second round after three straight defeats. Sweden is 1-2.

Teams fighting for their EuroBasket 2013 lives and trying to stay in the hunt for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup claimed important victories in Jesenice on Friday.

Surprising Ukraine also remained unbeaten with a late win over Germany. Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) went into Group B action on the back of two defeats and needing wins.

Goran Dragic scored 18 points to lead host Slovenia to a 78-69 upset victory over defending champion Spain on Thursday night in the European basketball championship.

Dragic, a guard for the Phoenix Suns, also had six rebounds, seven assists and two steals and scored the last four points of the game in Celje.

FIBA EuroBasket 2013: Day 1 Highlights Videos. There was a little bit of everything on the first day of EuroBasket 2013 for the crowds that watched games in four Slovenian cities.

National sides launched their bids for glory on the old continent, and to qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.