KALAHEO — Mikal Moronz of The G Unit had one wild night, Tuesday. Moronz sank a charity pair after the buzzer to give The G Unit a 34-32 edge over Papalina to start the county’s 13 and Under basketball season
KALAHEO — Mikal Moronz of The G Unit had one wild night, Tuesday.
Moronz sank a charity pair after the buzzer to give The G Unit a 34-32 edge over Papalina to start the county’s 13 and Under basketball season off with a bang.
In game 2, Cy Whitlock may have netted just four points for Hanakila, but was a determining factor with blocked shots, rebounds and getting in the face of Ho‘ouila as the team from Kilauea posted a 57-28 victory over the Hanama‘ulu team.
Keali Coliipano posted a game-high seven points to lead Team Central to a 24-12 win over Triple X Extrem (Lihu‘e) in the final outing of the night.
“For a while, I thought we were going overtime in the first game of the season,” said Karen Matsumoto of the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association who was helping with the scorekeeping. “But that boy from the G Unit just dropped the pair.”
Moronz was one of six G Unit players posting four points in the win, his scores all coming in the sixth period including the charity pair. Shane Deponte, Tyler Fernandez, Makana Aki, Una Masaniai and Solomone Manupule were the other five G Unit scoring leaders.
Edsel Lactaotao and Fresno Masaniai added three points apiece and pairs from Michael Booth and Steven McCabe rounded out the win.
Tystin Gummerus set the pace for Papalina with seven points followed by J.J. Torres and Kainoa Simao posting six points each. Kelson Andrade finished with five, Vaughn Thompson added four and pairs from Jassem Gumlat and Curren Dillberg rounded out the effort.
“We had our chances, but the ball wouldn’t drop,” said Papalina coach Sean Andrade. “We had five lay-ups and the ball bounced here, there, and just wouldn’t fall.”
In the opening period, Papalina was 0-8 at the free throw line before hitting the net with a pair of treys in the second period.
“Looks like we’ll have to go back to the drawing board,” Andrade said.
James Paik finished with a game-high 16 points to pace the Hanakila offense followed by Kele Koa Baclayon adding nine points, all coming in the second half.
Daniel Reese and Colby Baliares finished with six points apiece, Morgan Childs added four along with Whitlock, and pairs from Angelito Raza, Kawika Wellington, Nick Lu and Justin Apilado rounded out the Kilauea win.
Angelo Remento topped the Ho‘ouila effort with 11 points followed by Kerwin Moreno tucking in six points. Kingsley Kahanoe finished with five, Macel Kaious added four and Chavis Banasihan’s pair rounded out the effort.
Following Colipano, Kanalu Simao finished with five points, Jedilain Blake and Lansen Eto each added four points for the Team Central.
Myron Manera and Chance Ramirez paced the Triple X Extrem (Lihu‘e) with four points apiece. Pairs from Keanu Mata and Jacob Corpuz rounded out the effort.
