IRI – Petrochimi use last 0.7 seconds to stun Gorgan in Iran

GORGAN (Iran Super League) - There is a huge appetite for basketball in Iran, the land of the two-time defending champions of Asia.

And that is especially true in Gorgan, the home of Iranian Super League outfit Shahrdari Gorgan.

Petrochimi of Imam Harbor travelled to Gorgan on Thursday and before a bumper crowd, one of the games of the season unfolded with the visitors overcoming the early departure of national team guard Javad Davari due to injury to claim a last-second, 73-71 victory.

A lot of attention was on the game and not just because of the big implications, with the winners Petrochimi taking the inside track to the play-off semi-finals.

Each team also oozes with quality, both in terms of players and coaches.

Shahrdari Gorgan have national team player Hamed Sohrabnejad along with Saman Veisi, Ontario Lett and Derrick Tarver, and they are coached by Mohammad Mehdi Izad Panah.

Petrochimi of Imam Harbor are led by coach Mohammad Kasaeipour and technical director Safa Ali Kamalian while they also boast two national team stars in Davari and Amir Amini. Other leading players in their squad are Saeid Davarpanah, Norman Nolan and Marcus Melvin.

After Davari’s first-quarter exit, his teammates fought like lions and hit back from an early deficit to lead 35-33 at half-time.

Terrific drama unfolded at the end of the second half.

In the closing minutes, both teams shared the lead but with 26 seconds left, the game was knotted at 69-69 and Petrochimi had possession of the ball.

After using up most of the shot-clock, Amini drove in for a potential go-ahead lay-up and missed, only for teammate Davarpanah to grab the offensive rebound and score on the put-back for a 71-69 lead.

Gorgan weren’t done.

With 4.7 seconds remaining, Saman Veisi dribbled the ball the length of the court and made a game-tying lay-up.

Petrochimi officials argued that the clock had not started until Veisi crossed half-court but their appeals were in vain.

With just 0.7 seconds to go, Petrochimi called a timeout and regrouped.

They came up what proved to be the winning play.

When the action resumed, Amini inbounded the ball from half-court, throwing a long lob pass to Marcus Melvin who had gotten open thanks to a screen set by Saeid Davarpanah.

The lefty caught the ball in the air and released it just before the buzzer sounded for the winning points.

The hosts, and their fans, had been ready for the overtime and all of them fell silent before the referees declared at the officials’ table that the shot had indeed left Melvin’s hands in time.

Petrochimi celebrated the two-point win while Shahrdari Gorgan’s players left the court stunned.

Many of their very supportive fans were reduced to tears with just three games remaining in the regular season.

Melvin finished with 28 points for Petrochimi while Davarpanah, Nolan and Amir added 14, 12 and nine points, respectively.

Lett was the leading scorer for Gorgan with 27 Points, while Traver and Veisi helped with 14 and 13 points.

The result left Petrochimi third with 25 points after Super League leaders Mahram (30) and Zob Ahan (28).

In Tehran, Azad University defeated Saba Mehr 89-77 at home thanks to a brilliant performance by Kevin Sheppard.

Saba Mehr are fourth with 24 points.

The rest of the Iranian Super League results were as follows:

Trust Shiraz 80 Towzin Electric 97, Zob Ahan Isfahan 90 HB Shahr-e Kurd 72, Mahram 91 A S Bond Shiraz 64.

FIBA