‘Iolani and St. Francis meet in the championship game of the Surfrider Holiday Hoops Classic at Kailua High School gym.
‘Iolani 49, St. Francis 35, 4:30, Q4
‘Iolani turnovers against St. Francs’ fullcourt pressure had swung momentum. Ng was on his way to a drive and bucket when he was whistled for charging, and the Saints’ coaching staff disagreed vehemently. The lead was down to 45-35 at the time. Then an intentional foul by the Saints, and the Raiders hit the FTs. A minute later, Ng drives the lane and is called for another offensive foul, possibly using his free hand to clear out the defender in mid-air. The Saints’ bench protests and is called for a technical foul.
‘Iolani 43, St. Francis 28, end Q3
The Saints needed a good start to the second half, but the Raiders beat them downcourt for buckets. ‘Iolani’s defense is giving Kordel Ng very little breathing room. The lead was up to 18 (41-23), and the Saints cut it 13 before the Raiders got a putback at the buzzer.
‘Iolani 28, St. Francis 14, halftime
The double-OT win over Kailua on Friday took some of the wind out of St. Francis’ sails. They’ve stopped the bleeding, but ‘Iolani’s man defense has kept dangerous scorers like Kordel Ng under check.
‘Iolani 23, St. Francis 9, 5:33, Q1
The Raiders are raining from the arc now, a 7-0 run to begin the second quarter.
‘Iolani 16, St. Francis 9, end Q1
The Raiders are beginning to warm up from long range, and they’re starting to wear the Saints down in transition.
‘Iolani 3, St. Francis 2, 5:07, Q1
The Saints are playing without leading scorer Kameron Ng, who suffered an ankle injury during Fridays semifinal round. So far, they’re sitting a 2-3 zone and daring ‘Iolani to shoot the 3.
In the third-place game, Baldwin held off host Kailua 71-67. Surfriders guard Everett Torres-Kahapea suffered an ankle injury in the final minute. Kailua trailed by nine points with 3 minutes left, but got no closer than three.
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