After a lucky bank floater from Iran’s Heydari, Shea Ili opened the Tall Blacks account with a quick move to the bucket. The Kiwis did a great job of getting to the cup and putting pressure on the Iranian defence, forcing four early fouls.
A couple of buckets by veterans Corey Webster and Reuben Te Rangi started an 8-0 Tall Blacks run, as the Kiwis retook the lead late in the first. Ili’s 7 points led the way in a gritty, foul-laden opening quarter, with New Zealand up two at the break.
Despite Iran dropping to a 2-3 zone, the Tall Blacks continued their assault on the low block, consistently getting to the cup and putting foul pressure on Iran.
Ili brought up 11 points in the half before his alley-oop assist to Carlin Davison forced Iran’s first timeout, with the Tall Blacks up five. Ili continued to work his magic on both ends, knocking down a wide-open three to open up a double-digit lead.
Stifling defence strangled the Iranian offence to just six points in the first six minutes of the second quarter, but a late 14-0 run saw Iran tighten the gap and eventually retake the lead at halftime.
Ili’s barrage of buckets continued in the third, before back-to-back Mennenga buckets tied the game at 44-44. Jordan Ngatai’s triple opened up the Tall Blacks lead, before a Mennenga fast-break dunk pushed it to five.
Flynn Cameron began to get going, scoring five straight points before drawing a charge as the Kiwis started to look more at home. Iran found a way to grind themselves back into the contest, but Tai Webster’s corner triple pushed the lead back out to five, with the Tall Blacks up 66-61 heading into the fourth.
Iran quickly closed the gap to start the final stanza, tying the game after just a minute. Back and forth we went, with both squads trading blows and the Tall Blacks holding a one-point advantage with just over five minutes to play.
Cameron and Sam Waardenburg both ticked over into double figures, before Iran’s Jafari levelled the scores again with three minutes to play.
Mennenga and Amini traded buckets before the Kiwi big man fouled out with 54 seconds left. A tidy 15-point, 14-rebound double-double for the Westlake and Harbour forward.
Waardenburg had a great look from mid-range to take the lead with around 14 seconds to play, unfortunate not to convert, before a Carlin Davison deflection saw Iran take a timeout with 3.7 seconds remaining.
Thanks to some great Flynn Cameron defence, nothing came of it, as the teams headed into overtime.
And what a start it was. Shea Ili flying through the lane for the one-handed dunk got the overtime period off to an exciting start.
Ili went again to tie the game at 84-a-piece, before Reuben Te Rangi got to the cup and converted an and-one to become the fifth Kiwi into double digits.
The two veterans then linked up, as Ili’s dish led to another Te Rangi triple, pushing the Tall Blacks out to a two-possession lead.
Jamshidi fought back with free throws and a tough contested mid-range, but some tough Waardenburg defence allowed Ili to knock down another free throw.
Te Rangi and Ili proved the heroes in overtime, each scoring six in the extra period.
Despite this, Iran still had a chance to tie the game with the last possession.
Step up, Sam Waardenburg.
Two blocks on the last possession for the former Rangitoto big sealed a tight two-point win for the Tall Blacks.
A crazy night with nine lead changes and fourteen ties throughout the five periods, with the Tall Blacks eventually prevailing, and head to second in Group E with two games left to play from Mall of Asia Arena tonight.
“A real good international arm wrestle between two countries that have a lot to play.”
Coach Judd Flavell describing this game as a physical battle.
“A real physical game. You could tell by the amount of fouls that were called in that game, and the amount of points or people stepping to the free throw line.”
A total of 72 free throws called in the encounter, from a whopping 62 fouls on the night including four players fouling out and a further four Tall Blacks teetering on the edge with four personal fouls.
“I’m really proud of the guys for sticking together. It could have easily tipped over but we kept our composure down to the end which was a key to the victory.”
Tall Black guard, Shea Ili, happy with the stick-to-it-tiveness of the group in the win and the way the boys continued to respond.
“All week we talked about how physical they were, and at the start of the game they showed that. We had a few turnovers, but you know we came together and were able to finish and get the job done.”
With the first game in this second round of FIBA World Cup Qualification under their belt, the team is under no illusion that the remaining games in their schedule will continue to be tough.
“This pool, there’s six quality teams. Every team is in with a chance. So we come into these game with much respect, and we know there’s a lot of work to do and for us it’s just about trying to inch our way forward and keep our continuity going as a team as we move from one game to the next” says Coach Flavell.
The Tall Blacks next game tips off in a little under 48 hours where the team will take on Syria, 6:00pm NZT on Sunday.
New Zealand Tall Blacks 93 (Ili 24p, 6a, Mennenga 15p, 14r, Te Rangi 13p, Waardenburg 11p, 7r) defeat Iran 91 (Aghajanpour 19p, Amini 16p, Jafari 14p)
Q1: IRI 19 – 21 NZL
HT: IRI 39 – 38 NZL
Q3: IRI 51 – 56 NZL
Q4: IRI 80 – 80 NZL
OT: IRI 91 – 93 NZL
