Iran Falls to New Zealand in Overtime Heartbreaker

Iran walked off the floor at Mall of Asia Arena staring at the rim, not the scoreboard. Two point-blank looks in the final seconds of overtime slipped away, and with them a vital win in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Final Score: New Zealand 93 - 91 Iran (overtime)

New Zealand survived, 93–91, on Friday, Aug. 28, clinging on after Sam Waardenburg and the Tall Blacks defense slammed the door in dramatic fashion.

With Iran trailing by two in the dying moments, Mohammad Amini drove hard and rose for what looked like a game-tying layup. Waardenburg met him at the summit and stuffed the attempt, a clean, towering block that froze the Iranian bench. The ball still bounced kindly for Team Melli, though, and Alireza Sharifi suddenly had the game in his hands.

His putback rolled off.

New Zealand scrambled, bodies flew to the glass, and Iran never got a third chance. The buzzer sounded over a stunned arena, the Tall Blacks celebrating an escape rather than a statement win.

The result reshapes Group E. New Zealand climb to 5–2, pulling level with Iran at the same 5–2 mark in the standings. For Iran, the timing could hardly be worse. This sting comes just two days before a crucial showdown with Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday, Aug. 30, on the same Manila floor.

Player Performances

Shea Ili set the tone for the Tall Blacks. Aggressive, decisive, and relentless off the dribble, he carved out 24 points and dished six assists, repeatedly punishing any lapse in Iran’s perimeter coverage. When New Zealand needed a steady hand, Ili supplied it.

Sam Mennenga did the heavy lifting inside, muscling his way to 15 points and a commanding 14 rebounds. Reuben Te Rangi chipped in 13, spacing the floor and keeping Iran’s defense honest, while Waardenburg’s 11 points were overshadowed by that single, defining block at the end.

Iran’s stars did enough to win on most nights. Matin Aghajanpour led Team Melli with 19 points, carrying stretches of the offense. Amini backed him with 16, showing the same fearlessness that put him at the rim in the final seconds, and Seyed Mahdi Jafari added 14 in a balanced effort that kept Iran in lockstep with New Zealand throughout.

But qualifiers are often decided not by the box score, but by one possession, one decision, one defensive stand.

Iran now have little time to dwell. The missed layup, the blocked shot, the loose ball that wouldn’t drop — all of it travels with them into Sunday’s meeting with Gilas. How they respond to this gut punch may say more about their World Cup ambitions than any narrow defeat ever could.