KALAHEO — Akeem Allen had one of the best nights of the season as he netted a game-high 23 points to lead the third-seeded Westside Klowns to a 73-55 upset over the second-seeded Southside Boys in the playoff action for
KALAHEO — Akeem Allen had one of the best nights of the season as he netted a game-high 23 points to lead the third-seeded Westside Klowns to a 73-55 upset over the second-seeded Southside Boys in the playoff action for the KYBA 19 Under Teen League at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Benches played a critical role in the final results of the playoffs as the Southside bench saw just a single player on hand to replace tiring players while the ZZ bench was empty, their game starting late as the remaining two players showing up just as the game was scheduled to start.
Add to that the playoff and championship format change where players were on the court for eight-minute stop time qaurters compared with the regular season six-minute quarters.
The Klowns’ victory pits them against Kalaheo for the league championship Tuesday night, Mar. 30 when two games will determine the third, second, and first place teams in the league.
Top-seeded Kalaheo handily beat out fourth seed ZZ, 44-26 whose ranks were sorely depleted and the game starting behind schedule.
Jeremy Manuel topped the Kalaheo scoring with 17 points in the win with Tab Matsumoto adding nine markers and numerous rebounds in the paint.
Tyler Bare followed with six points and Jordan Shea added five in the win.
Amini Taufoou topped the ZZ scoring with nine points followed by Zachary Cummings and Brandon Wong each adding six points.
Chad Barba joined Allen to finish with 21 points to lead the Klowns with Aaron Hesapene finishing with 13 points. Clarence Aki and Brendan McDaniels each added six.
Josh Bradbury put in a little extra effort in the absence of Vaafuti Tavana who is on the Big Island for a volleyball tournament, the tall man sending his parents to the gym to check on the game status.
Bradbury finished with 18 points with Ross Acoba withstanding a battering in the paint to finish with 11 points.
Kurt Vidinha, the other Southside forward, finished with eight points along with Lucky Andres. Eddie Delos Santons and Jeivin DeCosta-Mararagan rounded out the Southside scoring with five point contributions.
Game time Tuesday night starts at 6:30 p.m. For the third place game with the championship game scheduled to start around 7:30 p.m.
Westside Klowns 73, Southside Boys 55
Kalaheo 44,(Lihu‘e Venzon) 26
Sports Editor Dennis Fujimoto may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or mailto:dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
