John Medina's 30-point outing goes for naught as Gilas Boys fall to NZ in FIBA U18 Asia Cup

John Medina went ballistic in the second half, but his torrid offense was not enough to salvage Gilas Pilipinas Boys in their 75-58 loss to New Zealand in the 2024 FIBA U18 Asia Cup on late Wednesday in Amman, Jordan. 

The 18-year-old shooting guard dropped 23 points in the last two quarters en route to an impressive 30-point explosion laced with two rebounds, two steals, and one assist as the Philippines fell to a 1-2 card in Group D. 

New Zealand, meanwhile, remained spotless after improving to 3-0 to clinch an outright quarterfinals spot. 

Medina caught fire in the third quarter, completing a three-point play before he capped off a personal 7-0 run with a triple to cut the deficit to just 10 after Gilas trailed by as many as 19, 51-41. 

But New Zealand had every answer with Kahu Treacher ending the frame with a three-pointer of his own, bringing their lead back up to 15, 58-43. 

Medina fired back-to-back three-pointers, once again trimming the gap to 11 at 67-56. But the youngster didn't get enough help from the rest of the squad, allowing New Zealand to cruise to the win. 

Aside from Medina, Mark Esperanza was the only Gilas player who breached the double-digit scoring after he poured in 14 points as Wilhalm Cabonilas was limited to just three markers. 

Carter Hopoi led the charge for New Zealand with 23 points while Tamatoa Isaac and Treacher chipped in 16 and 11 markers apiece. 

Despite the loss, Gilas remains in contention pending the result of the game between Jordan (1-1) and Indonesia (0-2) tomorrow. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News