Ivory Coast secured its first win of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in thrilling fashion, outlasting Iran 71-69 in a thriller on Monday evening at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta.

Iran appeared headed for victory after Arsalan Kazemi put them ahead, 69-68, with just 13 seconds to go off a Sajjad Mashayekhi dime.

But off a timeout, Solo Diabate drew a foul from Mohammad Amini, much to the dismay of Iran coach Hakan Demir. Demir was called for a technical foul, and Diabate knocked down all three free throws awarded to him.

Behnam Yakhchali still had a chance to win it for Iran in the final six seconds, but his off-balanced three-point attempt was off the mark.

Ivory Coast thus broke through the win column in Group G, while Iran dropped to 0-2.

Nisre Zouzoua led the Ivorians with 17 points, while Maxence Dadiet and Amadou Sidibe each scored 10 points.

Yakhchali had 19 points for Iran, which also got 15 points from Amini. Veteran center Hamed Haddadi had nine points in 20 minutes before fouling out.

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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