The 59-50 win was a first-ever Turkish win against the USA in the sport, and it gave the field an early shake-up.

Victory Day in Turkey marks the Battle of Dumlupinar, a decisive moment in the Turkish War of Independence in 1922, and forward Ismail Ar was delighted to add to the party.

'It's Turkey's glorious day, so it's a glorious day for us,' he said. 'I'm not surprised that we beat the USA today.'

Cem Gezinci scored 15 points to lead Turkey to victory as they took an early lead and then put the USA under pressure.

'This is only the beginning,' coach Mehmut Onut said. 'This is the first game and it is only one win. We want to continue this during the tournament and hopefully this will pay off in the later matches.'

Also in Group A, Diego De Paz Pazo scored 18 points to lead Spain to a 67-40 win over Italy.

Justin Eveson had 21 points and Shaun Norris added 17 as Australia beat South Africa 93-39.

Germany blew an 18-point lead but then recovered to beat hosts Great Britain 77-72 in overtime in the outstanding Group B contest of the day.

Germany had led 34-16 in the second quarter on a Jan Haller basket, but a 28-9 Britain run gave them a 44-43 lead in the third period.

The two teams scrapped it out to a tense finish, with Terry Bywater's last-gasp effort off-target to leave it tied at 66-66 at the end of regulation.

Germany then dominated the extra period to take the win, thanks in large part to Dirk Passiwan, who scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half to hold off the British charge.

An incredible scoring surge saw Patrick Anderson account for Canada's first 23 points in a 68-53 win over Japan.

Anderson, who announced his retirement after the 2008 Paralympics only to return in 2011, finished with 32 points in the win.

Captain Marcin Balcerowski and Mateusz Filipski had 18 points each as Poland overcame Colombia 63-45.

In the women's competition, the USA did what their male counterparts could not and cruised to victory, beating France 63-24.

Mariska Beijer scored 26 points, 16 of them in the second half, and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Netherlands beat hosts Great Britain 62-35.

Australia opened with a tough 52-50 win over Brazil, holding off the South Americans in a tense finish.

Cheng Haizhen had 19 points to lead China to a 53-46 victory over Mexico.