KALAHEO — With six seconds left on the clock, John Das sealed a 39-33 win on a 3-point play as he sank the charity shot from a Vinda Carineo foul during the Boys 12 and Under basketball game Thursday. Eastside
KALAHEO — With six seconds left on the clock, John Das sealed a 39-33 win on a 3-point play as he sank the charity shot from a Vinda Carineo foul during the Boys 12 and Under basketball game Thursday.
Eastside came ready to play, and from the onset, contained the Westside Hornets’ Carineo, limiting the normally high scorer to just three digits in the second half. The pressure defense was on display as Carineo finished with a 1-8 showing on the free throw line.
But, where one Hornet is clipped, another steps up, and Cliffton Callejo finished with 3 from beyond the arc to keep the Hornets in the fray throughout the night. Callejo’s final 3-pointer came with just 19 seconds showing to pull the Hornets to within 3 points, 36-33. Add to his long distance bombs, a fancy long distance hookshot from the leftside, and the Westside Hornets did not succumb to the Eastside defensive pressure.
The Eastside defense pestered the Hornets’ offensive effort throughout the night with Keane-Shane Agoot effectively teaming with Ka’awa Solomon on a double-teaming of Carineo to force turnovers and missed buckets.
Das coupled with Keoni Kiezie to close off the paint, and with a minute, 57 seconds showing, Kiezie fouled out, leading Das’ dad to call out, “It’s all you, now, John.”
Defensive intensity was brought to a head close to the half as the referees stopped the game to talk to both teams following a midcourt foul.
Agoot topped the Eastside scoring with 13 points followed by Hudson Hunter and Das adding 9 points apiece. Kiezie’s 8 points before fouling out rounded out the victory.
Callejo topped the Hornets’ scoring with 13 points followed by Carineo’s 10-point showing. Jake Corona came up with 6 points, and a pair from Brandon Palacio rounded out the scorebooks.
Earlier in the evening, Rajan Baliaris broke open for 9 of his game-total 13 points in the second half as the Gee Unit B outdistanced the Kalaheo Tigers, 39-25 in the opener of the county’s 12 and Under boys basketball games at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Shawn Tavares got 6 of Kalaheo’s 8 points in their 8-2 showing over Unit B in the third period, but fell to a 26-9 second half.
Adam Clark, whose value came in his height under the boards, topped Unit B’s victory with 15 points followed by Baliaris’ contribution. Jesse Voorhies notched all of his game-total 5 points in the sixth frame with Kea Nacolatabua adding his 3 points in the second half. Pairs from Makana Aki and Pita Tau’ou rounded out the Unit B win.
Following Tavares’ lead, Shosho Ogawa chipped in 4 points, and pairs from Kaioli Brun, Joey Silva, Grant Basquez, and Tystin Gummerus rounded out the Kalaheo effort.
