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, enabling the team from Oceania to still secure a podium finish despite falling short of reaching the Final for the third time in as many campaigns.
*This article will be updated.