BILBAO (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Eugene "Pooh" Jeter felt like he "was playing the first game of his life" when he lined up for Ukraine's lung-opener against Dominican Republic.

At the end of the contest, Jeter had been at the vanguard of his team's 72-62 victory in a game at the end of which he returned "a completely different man".

"A win on this stage for any team is a great achievement. Especially for Ukraine. To play an important role in that win makes it very special," said the 30-year-old point guard said after scoring a team-high 16 points in the win.

"Well, it's not every day that you get to play at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and come out of it with flying colors.

"The fact that it was the first game was the main reason we looked nervous and shaky at the start. But this is a great team of players with character. All of us go into every game with a fight in our heart. In almost every game that (the spirit) keeps us going."

Jeter's leadership qualities came to fore when he powered a completely unfancied Shandong Golden Lions all the way to the Finals of the 2012-13 CBA Finals.

That form continued at EuroBasket 2013 with wins over Serbia and Italy taking Ukraine on their way to the biggest basketball in international success. Jeter had 20 points in each of those wins.

"It's been a fantastic last two summers. First was taking Shandong to the CBA Finals. And then came Slovenia. I'm glad I was part of teams that achieved the incredible on both occasions," he said.

"But the key thing in both those successes is that I had the support of a great team."

Jeter picked playing in China as a turning point in his career.

"A lot of players don't understand the importance of playing in China. I mean certainly there are a lot tougher leagues, but playing in China is a different experience altogether. All American players who have played in China have only got better," he said.

Having secured the first win of a tournament that runs deep, Jeter hoped the superb start would power the team.

"We needed such a win for our own confidence. Nobody can doubt our abilities. We are a great team. We needed something to give us the confidence in ourselves," he said.

"We have had a superb start. But we know we need to last a marathon."

FIBA