Kamie Imai racked up 22 points as the Piopio Bears from Hilo finished with a sweep of their Kaua‘i games Saturday afternoon. The Bears, under the leadership of Dennis Onishi, were on island for a goodwill visit, playing two games
Kamie Imai racked up 22 points as the Piopio Bears from Hilo finished with a sweep of their Kaua‘i games Saturday afternoon.
The Bears, under the leadership of Dennis Onishi, were on island for a goodwill visit, playing two games Friday night before wrapping up their series with a pair of games Saturday.
Imai netted a game-high 22 points in the Bears’ final match, a 41-22 win over the Gee’s Angels who proved to be a worthy opponent for the Bears.
Both teams worked tenacious defense against each other and matched up fairly evenly, but when the Bears changed their defense to put pressure on the ball, the Angels were starved at the net, finishing with just 5 points in the second half.
Earlier in the day, the Bears wrapped up a 35-23 win over the Lihu‘e Kamikaze as coach Onishi unlocked his bench for a full-depth of play.
The Bears were led by balancing scoring from Kaylyn Otsubo and Britney Unoki who each finished with 8 points followed by low post Leilani Tuani-Fifita netting 7 points against Lihu‘e.
Following the scoring leaders, Layna Christian and Leigh Williams finished with three points. Hina Joaquin, Imai and Jaslynne Datanabe-Antonio added a pair each with a digit from Krystal Christian rounding out the win.
Jaimee Mariano paced the Kamikaze with 5 points followed by Bristy Ann Agu adding 4 points. Lacey Luca and Christina Banach finished with 3 points, Banach losing a heartbreaking basket in the first half as the ball rattled the net and rolled the rim before spinning out of the hoop, eliciting a groan from the crowd.
Lauren Fernandez, Kawehi Louis-Diamond, Maureen Sibolboro and Kira Taylon each contributed a pair in the effort.
In the contest against the Angels, the Bears relied heavily on its starting five as Tuani-Fifita fouled out in the third period, but not before contributing 8 points. That came below Imai’s 22-point performance from all points of the court.
Key to the Bears’ win over the Angels came not only from pressuring the ball, but in its ability to quickly move the ball before the Angels had an opportunity to set defense.
Layna Christian was key to that around the court movement along with Datanabe-Antonio, both high post girls taking a battering from defending Angels. Datanabe-Antonio finished with 5 points, followed by Unoki adding 4 points. Layna rounded out the Bears’ showing with a pair.
Kristle Henry doesn’t have “Speedy” emblazoned on the back of her jersey for naught. The petite guard broke away several times in the contest to capitalize, finishing with high-point honors for the Angels with 7 points. Mahea Hanie Grace followed with 5 points. Lauren Claypoole, Ka‘anoi Marshall and Leihua McCabe each added a pair to round out the effort.
Earlier, the Bears took a Friday night double-header over the Kaulupono Girls with a 32-28 edge over Kaulupono “A,” and a 41-35 win over Kaulupono “B.”
Traditionally, the Bears try to coincide their visits here with being able to visit community events. However, a shortened summer schedule prevented them from visiting during the bon dance season, or the Kaua‘i Hospice “Concert in the Sky.”
That left a night for Rock-n-Glow bowling at the Lihu‘e Bowling Center before returning home to Hilo and the schoolbooks.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
