REUBEN Te Rangi caught fire in the final three minutes of overtime to lead New Zealand past Iran in a tightly-fought contest, 93-91, in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Te Rangi completed a three-point play and nailed a clutch three-pointer to give the Tall Blacks a 90-86 cushion that they never relinquished.
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Iran had two chances at forging another extra period but missed on both attempts, allowing the Tall Blacks to escape with the hard-earned victory at the start of the qualifiers' second round.
It was the fifth straight win for New Zealand since starting its campaign at 0-2, tying it with Iran at second place in Group E.
Te Rangi finished with 13 points on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, while adding four rebounds. His three-point play with 2:44 left broke the game's final deadlock and gave the Tall Blacks an 87-84 lead.
The 31-year-old guard then nailed a three-pointer less than a minute later to stretch the Tall Blacks' lead at four.
Shea Lli led the Tall Blacks with 24 points and six assists, forward Sam Mennenga had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Saam Waardernburg and Flynn Cameron were the others to finish in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
A split by Jordan Ngatai from the foul line with 13 seconds left in the extra period left the door open for an Iran comeback.
But Waardenburg blocked the driving Mohammad Amini, before Alireza Sharifi pulled down the rebound, but also missed on game-tying attempt under the basket as time expired.
Team Melli was paced by the 19 points of forward Matin Aghajanpour, who was 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Amini added 16 along with five rebounds, Seyed Mahdi Jafari had 14, and veterans Mohammad Jamshidi with 12 and Arsalan Kazemi with all-around numbers of seven points, nine rebounds, and two assists played big for Iran, which snapped saw a three-game win streak come to an end.
Amini’s driving layup inside the final two minutes of regulation tied the game at 80-all, paving the way for the overtime period.
The scores:
New Zealand (93) – Lli 24, Mennenga 15, Te Rangi, 13, Waardenburg 11, Cameron 10, Webster 6, Davison 6, Ngatai 4, Timmins 2, C. Webster 2, McNaught 0.
Iran (91) – Aghajanpour 19, Amini 16, Jafari 14, Jamshidi 12, Zangeneh 9, Kazemi 7, Girgoorian 6, Mahdi Heydari 6, Monji 2, Sheikhi 1, Sharifi 0, Aliakbari 0.
Quarterscores: 21-19; 39-38; 66-61; 80-80 (regulation); 93-91.
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