KALAHEO — Illmatic suffered its second loss in as many outings Sunday. Undefeated in the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association Boys 18 and Over summer league,, Illmatic’s record was blemished Friday night when Mixed Plate put a spot on its record.
KALAHEO — Illmatic suffered its second loss in as many outings Sunday.
Undefeated in the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association Boys 18 and Over summer league,, Illmatic’s record was blemished Friday night when Mixed Plate put a spot on its record. Sunday night, the Gee Unit erased an 18-point halftime deficit to add another blemish to the Illmatic slate with a 51-45 win in the first of three games played at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Kalepa Hillsiders, suffering its single season loss from Illmatic, continued its winning ways with a 57-48 win over a hard-pressing Team 1.
Silas Tacsiat continued to hit the outside shot, but came up short as Notorious dropped a 43-37 match to Mixed Plate.
Kekoa Colipano’s strong moves in the guard position sparked the Mixed Plate win, Colipano dropping 15 points and Emery Souza finishing with nine points.
Tacsiat finished with six three-balls en route to finishing with a game-high 25 points in the Notorious effort.
“They really wanted it,” said Kalepa coach Keoki Cummings, whose sons Kaleo and Kapono play on the Hillsiders’ squad.
The intensity of the game showed as both teams finished with double-digit scoring in each quarter, Kalepa staying just ahead of the Team 1 greenshirts and pulling ahead in the second and fourth frames.
Davone Florence paced Kalepa in the second frame, finishing with seven of the team’s 17 points including a buzzer beating trey that erupted the crowd at the half. Preston Keough added a pair of treys in that frame for the 27-21 bulge at the half.
Travis Stine, finishing with the team’s high 15 points, netted nine of Kalepa’s 16 points in the fourth frame.
Florence followed with 11 points and Kapono Cummings netted eight of his game-total 10 points in the third frame with a string of four buckets. Kaleo Cummings ended the night on seven points, Keough and Austin Simao added six points apiece.
Braxton Garma and Brendan McDaniels paced the Team 1 effort, finishing with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Jed Balmidiano added nine points in the effort.
Illmatic rolled to an early lead, 20-10 in the first quarter behind nine points from Ian Clements, including a pair of treys, and eight points from Keelan Sakuda. Clements finished with nine points.
Mike Lindsey picked up the pace in the second frame, leading Illmatic to a 17-9 showing over the Gee Unit with six points and Clements finishing with five points, including another trey.
But the Gee Unit, faced with an 18-point deficit, rebounded in the second half, holding Illmatic to just eight points while moving to a 32-point showing to come back for the win.
Erick Pedro sparked the effort with eight points, Thomas Gausepohl added seven second-half points, Kekoa Prem and Winston Gee each added six in a balanced offensive attack.
When the dust settled, Pedro finished with 14 points followed by Prem with 11 points, Gee netting 10 points and Willis Batol ending the night on nine points.
Clements was limited to all of his 14 points coming in the first half. Sakuda finished the night with 10 points, Tab Matsumoto netted one trey en route to his 9-point contribution.
The Lindsey brothers, Matt and Mike, were both held to six points each and Kawelo “Spam” Lindsey was kept out of the scorebooks, but added key rebounds on the inside.
Three games are on tap for tonight (Tue) at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center when Mixed Plate tangles with the Gee Unit starting at 6 p.m.
That match will be followed by Notorious going up against Team 1 starting at 7 p.m.
The highlight game will see if Kalepa Hillsiders can redeem its loss against Illmatic starting at 8 p.m.
•Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
