New Zealand survive Kobe-like effort by Hollis Jefferson to win in OT

MANILA (Philippines) - It went down to the wire, but New Zealand were able to prevent Jordan and Rondae Hollis Jefferson getting a win despite his incredible 39-point performance.

The Tall Blacks celebrated a 94-87 win in overtime to stay in the hunt for the top two positions in Group C and a ticket to the Second Round.

Turning point: A couple of days ago, Rondae Hollis Jefferson doing his best Kobe Bryant impression on the floor in game one in Manila went viral. Well, it resonated well with the Filipino crowd, to say the least, as 7,331 of them made Mall of Asia Arena the center of RHJ madness.

New Zealand were up by 12 in the fourth quarter, but Freddy Ibrahim and Hollis Jefferson got Jordan back to a one-point game with five minutes left to play.

New Zealand had a five-point lead in the final minute, but Hollis Jefferson went crazy, drawing a foul on a three-pointer, making all three shots, and then, in a four-point game, with 10.7 seconds left to play, Rondae knocked down a three-pointer while being fouled to send the game to OT, all while receiving thundering "Kobe! Kobe!" chants from the stands.

The overtime belonged to New Zealand, however. Jordan ran out of gas, and Izayah Le'afa made them pay with a steal and a three to keep New Zealand in front, allowing Shea Ili to steer the New Zealand ship back to safe waters.

TCL Player of the Game: It's about how you start and how you finish, if you're Le'afa at least. He came off the bench, got up to 15 points in a hurry, then stayed silent for most of the second half.

The closing minutes plus overtime belonged to New Zealand's shooting guard, who counted to 23, while grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists and stealing the ball three times.

Stats don't lie: It comes down to shooting. New Zealand made nine of their first 13 attempts from beyond the arc, creating separation and staying in front.

Once Jordan made it back, their free throw shooting made all their effort go to waste. Jordan missed eight free throws, way too many in a close game like this.

Bottom line: New Zealand now have all to play for in their last group game, battling with Greece for a place among the sweet 16.

As for Jordan, we can only thank them for making a lifetime of memories for all of us present in the Mall of Asia Arena. We witnessed Rondae Hollis Jefferson getting all the way up to 39 points, including clutch heroics. Unreal game!

They said: "It means a lot, it's an honor. There definitely was only one Kobe, but to feel that love and that energy coming down the stretch, hitting those big shots - God was with me, and Kobe was with me, for sure." - Rondae Hollis Jefferson, Jordan, on the 'Kobe!' chants in the arena and the shot to send it to overtime

"We trusted in the things that we did. Obviously, the preparation that the coaches gave for us, and the scouting, the five weeks that we built together led to these moments. This is the World Cup, so anything can happen, but we just dug deep and believed in ourselves and got the job done." - Izayah Le'afa, New Zealand

"Tough game, we knew it was going to be tough because we always play tough games against Jordan. A couple of players were exceptional tonight, and we're very grateful to get the win in overtime. We would've loved to get it earlier." - Pero Cameron, New Zealand head coach

FIBA