Here in time of the second game of Saturday at the OIA-ILH Challenge at Moanalua High School gym. I was at the ‘Iolani Prep Classic (girls) the past two days, which was a great amount of fun. Time to catch up with the boys. Kapolei (6-2) has already defeated Mid-Pacific (3-1) 57-52 in today’s first game. It is Kapolei’s first win in the tourney, beating a team that beat Kalaheo on Friday. It’s looking like the OIA will be completely unpredictable this season.
Update 4:20 p.m. Got word from Kalaheo that leading scorer Captain Whitlock will rest tonight. He’s been playing with a groin injury since last week Friday. He hurt it in the final quarter against Honokaa at the James Alegre Invitational. The night before that, he dropped 40 points against Saint Louis.
6:30 p.m.
FINAL: No. 3 Kamehameha (5-2) 43, Moanalua (0-6) 41
Q4: Victorino-Kato with a trey, but Caleb Casinas rains in a straightaway 3, Kamehameha still up 38-35.
Laamea Frank at the line, 4:13, makes one, 39-35. Time out, Moanalua, 4:07.
Lele Kawaiea makes two FTs, 3:36, KS 41-35.
Young two FTs, both good, 43-35. Time out, Moanalua, 1:51.
Kamehameha switches to a 2-3 zone, Isaiah Sugiura wide open and splashes a 3 from the right wing. Time out, KS, 1:25. Curious move to zone.
Togiai poor spacing, forces a pass to Young, they’re only 4 feet apart, easy steal by MOHS. Na Menehune reversal, Casinas wide open left wing, splash for 3, :48.5, 43-40. Kamehameha not closing out on arc.
Kamehameha rushes into offense for some reason. Pauole misses a bunny, Victorino-Kato misses a tip and Moanalua rebounds. Time out, :16.8.
Kamehameha calls a time out before the ball is inbounded.
Casinas has the ball at the right wing, 30 feet out with :06 left, drives to the paint through the middle, right-handed layup misses, Victorino-Kato rebounds, final buzzer.
Q3: Na Menehune crept back within one, but Kamren Victorino-Kato’s 23-foot shot-clock beater pushed the lead to 32-28 for Kamehameha. Time out, Moanalua, 2:35.
End Q3: Kamehameha 35, Moanalua 32.
Q2: Nakoa Pauole crashing the offensive boards for a couple of putbacks, Warriors take the lead 18-16. Another offensive carom for Pauole, hits two FTs, 20-16.
Christmas Togiai steals a pass, easy layup, 22-16.
Moanalua cuts it to 22-19 on a FT. Officials allowing some contact under the glass, which is good for Pauole, not as good for Kobe Young, who got tangled up and was whistled for a foul. If he’d come up with the ball, it would’ve gone the other way.
Now they’re calling it tighter on the perimeter. Pauole back in. Young powers to the basket, misses three times, Moanalua fastbreak. Pauole hustles back to steal a fullcourt pass. Young fouled, goes to the line. Makes one, 25-19, :23.9
End Q1: Moanalua 11, Kamehameha 9.
5 p.m.
FINAL: No. 1 Punahou (7-0) 74, No. 4 Kalaheo (3-4) 37
Q4: Lot of reserves getting time this quarter. Freshman guard Kai Nafarette with an ankle-breaking dribble drive and no-look dish to Falcon Kaumatule for a layup. Punahou bench erupts.
Q3: Intensity level is down defensively for both teams. They’re still aggressive offensively. Duke Clemens scored in the low post, nice. Getting him established, getting his roll going, so crucial come ILH season. It’s basically why football teams need a goal-line offense on fourth-and-1, or why every baseball team needs to be able to bunt and move a runner over in a one-run game. He is the one type of scorer they don’t have a surplus of. He scores later on a fastbreak lefty layup. Makaula hit his third trey of the game, too. 53-30, 3:30.
Kai Samiere of Kalaheo with a sweet double-clutch reverse layup on the break. That deserves 5 points.
End Q3: Punahou 55, Kalaheo 33.
Q2: Pardini with a long trey from the top to cut it to 24-14, but Kaulana Makaula rains back-to-back treys in response. A lot of action for Punahou reserves. Starters return in the final 2-3 minutes and extend the lead.
End Q2: Punahou 38, Kalaheo 19.
Q1: It’s official, Captain Whitlock is not playing in this one. He’s played in at least two games, maybe three, since suffering a groin injury last week. Kalaheo’s 6-foot-9 center, Andreas Jankovic, scores the first basket of the game on a layup, but it’s been three turnovers in a row by Kalaheo against Punahou’s fullcourt pressure leading to three Buffanblu layups. Punahou leads 10-4, timeout Kalaheo, 5:34.
Another layup for Punahou, followed by a line-drive running hook shot by Ryan Pardini, 15-6. Then it’s a Kalaheo backcourt pass, a lob to the key that turns into a lob to Punahou, which scores on the play, foul. Punahou 17-6.
Punahou press wreaking havoc on the Mustangs, especially on sideline traps. Kalaheo missing two key ballhandlers: Whitlock and Noah Woodby. The latter had a huge game against Kamehameha on Thursday.
3:30 p.m.
FINAL: No. 2 ‘Iolani (5-1) 62, Leilehua (1-5) 36
Post-game: Didn’t realize until after the game that sharpshooter Liam Fitzgerald didn’t play. Think he had six treys in the win over Kamehameha. I’ll post the scorebook box scores soon.
Q4: Another block for Hugh Hogland, that’s eight. Another steal and layup for Genovia. That’s at least three steals, 54-27.
Officials still attentive. They confer on a shuffle of the feet by Leilehua, traveling. Illegal screen on the other side by the Raiders’ #14. I know that’s not Robby Mann.
Mules running flex with ‘Iolani reserves on the floor.
Q3: A reckless drive by Leilehua through the press and a challenge answered by Hugh Hogland, his fifth block of the game. Another Leilehua drive, another block by HH50 and that’s a sixth block. Fastbreak off the block, but brother Cole loses the ball out of bounds at the basket. 40-19.
Sam Wheeler with 3-pointers from each corner, and Justin Genovia scores off a turnover, 48-23. What Leilehua is learning now is that if they’re patient and attack the paint, Hugh Hogland can’t defend everybody. Two surprisingly easily layups. There isn’t a really hard-nosed, defensive-minded big alongside him. Two minutes left in the third and Shimamoto playing the back end of his bench.
Wheeler with his third trey of the quarter, 51-24. This comes after ‘Iolani uses a diaganal pass to get past Leilehua’s 2-2-1 press. One too many dribbles by the Mules, another steal. Wheeler misses for the first time this quarter from deep. The difference between a Shimamoto-coached team and many other teams is that his teams use the dribble with a specific purpose and never to clog spacing. I know a lot of players think pickup ball at the park makes them better players. It doesn’t. It makes gives them false confidence, overdribbling and scoring on other kids who are allergic to playing defense.
What was Klay Thompson’s most amazing statistic the night he scored 60 points? Sixth is special, but he did it with just 11 dribbles.
End Q3: ‘Iolani 51, Leilehua 24.
Q2: Mules coach Russ Fitzgerald upping the intensity between quarters. His team has played a lot of games in the past two weeks and he may sense a dip in energy level. Or not. Shot clock not a serious factor, either. It wasn’t a major factor at the ‘Iolani Classic and it hasn’t been from what I’ve seen so far here.
Alabanza with a corner 3, 23-11. Raiders facing man defense now and #23’s lob to the elbow is too low for Hogland. I know for a fact that this is not Erik Yamada, the former wearer of #23. Turnover.
Cole Hogland with nice work to the bucket, and then Alabanza works a pick and roll nicely with Hugh Hogland, good lob pass and foul. Raiders lead 29-11. Alabanza whistled for offensive foul after beating his man off the dribble and plowing over a helpside defender.
Right now, ‘Iolani looks like a team that has played together since sixth or seventh grade. Nothing too flashy, a minimal number of turnovers, no problem getting good shots. Leilehua looks like a team that has been together only during high school, which is mostly true, I think. The 2-2-1 press isn’t extremely lethal, but all five Raiders are working together and the Mules haven’t scored on it yet.
Three turnovers in a row during the final minute of the half, two easy layups for the Raiders. 34-15.
End Q2: ‘Iolani 34, Leilehua 15.
Q1: Hugh Hogland already has four blocks in the first 3 minutes of he game. The Mules are in a 2-3 zone. ‘Iolani is in man, as usual. Raiders lead 8-2. Make that 10-2. Hogland with a nice lefty jump hook off the dribble. Steal by the Raiders, layup, 12-2. They’re using a 2-2-1 three-quarter press.
Hogland shoots and misses a 3 from the top. Coach Dean Shimamoto doesn’t flinch. This is the new Hugh? Hogland challenges a shot from the elbow, air ball, but his teammates can’t pick up the rebound, easy putback, Mules. Bailey Alabanza with a straightaway 3, 15-6.
Shimamoto tried calling time out after an ‘Iolani basket earlier, but the referee never heard him even though they were only a few feet apart. It’s not loud in here, maybe 100 spectators. Shiamamoto not peeved, but clearly annoyed.
End Q1: ‘Iolani 20, Leilehua 11.
Thursday’s scores
Punahou 74, Leilehua 49
‘Iolani 66, Kapolei 47
Kalaheo 54, Kamehameha 39
Mid-Pacific 75, Moanalua 70
Friday’s scores
‘Iolani 57, Moanalua 48
Mid-Pacific 58, Kalaheo 44
Leilehua 52, Kamehameha 48
Punahou 81, Kapolei 72
Saturday’s scores
Kapolei 57, Mid-Pacific 52
‘Iolani 62, Leilehua 36
Punahou 74, Kalaheo 37
Kamehameha 43, Moanalua 41
Tournament win-loss records
ILH
‘Iolani 3-0
Punahou 3-0
Mid-Pacific 2-1
Kamehameha 1-2
OIA
Leilehua 1-2
Kapolei 1-2
Kalaheo 1-2
Moanalua 0-3
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