KALAHEO — A pair of come-from-behind victories sets the stage for the finals of the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association Boys 18 and Over league. Illmatic, seeded No. 2 in the league, had to battle from a deficit to take a
KALAHEO — A pair of come-from-behind victories sets the stage for the finals of the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association Boys 18 and Over league.
Illmatic, seeded No. 2 in the league, had to battle from a deficit to take a 48-44 win over No. 3 Team 1 while the No. 1 Kalepa Hillsiders erupted for a 21-4 final quarter to sew up a 49-30 win over a hard-pressing No. 4 Mixed Plate, Tuesday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
“I was getting worried about what to tell Coach Peter Rayno when he comes back from his trip,” said Travis Stine, the tall man inside who finished with 15 points for Kalepa. “I’m glad the boys woke up so I don’t need to tell him.”
Kaleo Cummings netted 14 of Kalepa’s 21 points in the final period as the Hillsider yellowshirts erupted late in the third period when Stine ignited the comeback on a bucket at the 1:38 mark to deadlock the contest, 26-26.
Kalepa trailed throughout the night, and another Stine bucket at the 1:01 mark gave the Hillsiders their first lead of the night, 28-26. From that point, Kalepa took control of the game.
“They’re really crashing the boards,” said Brian Inouye, a referee for the game.
Stine, Kaleo Cummings and Austin Simao combined to own the boards while shutting down the Mixed Plate to just 13 second-half points.
But it was a different story in the first half when Mixed Plate took a 12-6 opening quarter behind eight points from Trent Thompson, one of two key low posts.
“Trent was blocking our shots all over the place,” said Kalepa coach Keoki Cummings.
Thompson was joined by David Medeiros in keeping Kalepa from getting the inside shot, and R.J. Pillos moved the ball effectively before fouling out with 2:22 remaining.
Kaleo Cummings finished with 16 points, followed by Stine’s 15 points and Randy Vicoy netting eight points in the Kalepa win.
Thompson had the high-point honors for Mixed Plate with 11 points, followed by Pillos netting eight before fouling out.
“Devon Takenaka said we gotta take care of business before Sunday since he couldn’t make the game,” said Illmatic’s Tab Matsumoto, who posted a season-high 21 points in the come-from-behind victory. “Devon will be back in the finals, but we had to do it, Tuesday.”
During the final season game, Takenaka finished with the second highest point total to break Illmatic out of its three-game losing streak.
Mike Lindsey capitalized on a three-point play at the 5:00 mark to give Illmatic its final-stretch 38-36 lead that never changed for the remainder of the game.
Matsumoto and Spam Lindsey followed with buckets for the 42-36 bulge at the 3:56 mark only to have Brendan McDaniels nail both ends of a charity pair. He followed that with a bucket at the 2:40 mark to keep Team 1 in contention with a two-point deficit.
But Matsumoto launched a trey, igniting the audience on the far end of the gym, his third in the game, only to have McDaniels net another bucket at the 1:12 mark for the 47-42 deficit.
With the seconds ticking down, Team 1 had several tries at the bucket, but found a cover over the hoop as the buzzer sounded on the 48-44 Illmatic win.
Matsumoto topped all scorers with 21 points, including getting three of Illmatic’s four treys, the other coming from Brandon Palacio.
Matsumoto was followed by Mike Lindsey adding 13 points, seven coming in the final stretch. Keelan Sakuda finished with four, Matthew Lindsey and Palacio added three each, Kawelo “Spam” Lindsey netted a fourth-quarter pair and Ian Clements was 1 for 3 at the charity stripe.
McDaniels kept up with Matsumoto, finishing with 21 points including 17 in the first half. He netted a pair of first-quarter treys in his total. Brenden Cristobal added six, Braxton Garma, Kalen Abihai and James Sagucio each netted four, and Ikaika Rowan and David Bunao finished with a pair and a digit, respectively.
Mixed Plate and Team 1 square off in the finals starting at 6 p.m., Sunday at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center. That match will be followed when Kalepa goes up against Illmatic starting at 7 p.m.
Coach Peter Rayno and Takenaka will both be back.
