AHMEDABAD (India) - Jackson Ball and Cole Hopoi powered the fourth-quarter comeback to lead New Zealand in upending Korea, 102-97, to salvage a bronze medal in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 on Sunday night.
Ball finished with 29 points and 7 rebounds, while Hopoi made 14 as the tandem combined for 24 of the Junior Tall Blacks' 32 big points in the period to wipe out a 79-72 lead built by their counterparts with 8:30 to go.
Together with Harry Kelso, they erased that gap and tied things up at 84-all, before Ball scored five in a row - capped by a triple - to give themselves the lead for good at 89-85 with less than three minutes left.
Hopoi would then contribute in another quick run to push the gap to 96-88 with 1:18 left, and that 15-point swing they pulled off as a collective proved to be enough in putting them in the driver's seat all the way.
There was just no quit for the EABA contenders, though, as they imposed a major threat late that saw them get to as close as three, but the same duo would keep them in bay via free throws inside the final 22.5 seconds.
The Koreans would lose steam and soon the buzzer rang, and the team from Oceania would celebrate as it found a way to get to the podium despite falling short of reaching the Final for the third time in as many campaigns.
"I was really proud of the character shown," said Coach Josiah Maama. "We had a good strategy in terms of how we wanted to attack and how we wanted to defend Korea, and we knew that eventually, we'll get there."
Bruising big man Philip Wickham was as crucial in the triumph with 19 points and 11 rebounds plus 6 assists. The same goes with athletic guard Aubrey Chunga, who finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
New Zealand finished the tourney with a 5-1 record.
"You know, it sucks, for sure, knowing that we couldn't get the silver or gold. Still, more opportunities to come, still more room to grow and get better because this isn't the ultimate goal," said Arana Robertson.
"The ultimate goal is get the gold at the World Cup," he added as New Zealand are bound for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027 together with Korea, China, and Australia. "We're just gonna keep building."
Yoon Jiwon, on the other hand, led Korea with 29 points - spiked by four triples - alongside 6 rebounds in a losing effort. Park Taejoon and Heo Geonwoo made 15 points each while Yoon Jihoon added 13 and 10 assists.
FIBA