KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a’s Kawika Wellington nailed an outside bucket with seconds remaining to ice a 37-33 win against Kaua‘i High School JV in the opening game of the Kapa‘a Boys Basketball JV Tournament, Thursday. Kapa‘a A came from a 20-19
KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a’s Kawika Wellington nailed an outside bucket with seconds remaining to ice a 37-33 win against Kaua‘i High School JV in the opening game of the Kapa‘a Boys Basketball JV Tournament, Thursday.
Kapa‘a A came from a 20-19 halftime deficit to hold the Junior Raiders scoreless in the third quarter en route to the victory.
But Kaua‘i came back to pull within three points late in the game.
A Donovan Harrison bucket that came on a Warrior turnover pulled the Junior Raiders to within one in the final 15 seconds of play before Wellington answered the bucket with just ticks remaining on the clock.
Harrison, who nailed a pair of treys in the fourth period to pull Kaua‘i back into the fray, finished with a dozen points to lead the Kaua‘i effort.
Friday night, the Waimea High School JV program picked up its second win of the tournament.
After rolling to a 43-18 win over the Kapa‘a B team, Thursday night, the Junior Menehune saw the return of Brandon Palacio to the floor, and combined with the driving of guard Kaili Lagundino, the blueshirts held off the Kapa‘a A team, 37-36.
Daniel Reis had the hot hand for the Kapa‘a A squad which drops to 1-1.
Kaua‘i’s Junior Raiders came back strong following its loss to Kapa‘a A and sewed up a 57-41 win over the Kapa‘a B, Friday night.
That win brings it to a tie with Kapa‘a A at 1-1 while Kapa‘a B drops to 0-2.
“Brandon missed some practices so we sat him out, Thursday,” said Alex Naumu, one of the Junior Menehune coaches. “But he should see some action, tonight.”
Naumu, whose son Nouveau is the head coach, said following the Kapa‘a A team’s win over Kaua‘i, Thursday, was concerned over the height advantage shown by the Kapa‘a A team.
“They’re all trees,” Naumu said. “We’re only mosquitoes.”
But the Junior Menehune battled back against Kapa‘a which at one point held a 10-point lead, and following bouts of Warrior passing miscues, was able to eke out a point lead for the win.
In the sole varsity match of the tournament, Waimea’s Branson Agu finished with a game-high 15 points, but Hana, visiting from the Maui Interscholastic League, wrapped up a 45-33 win over Waimea behind the hot hand of Kemamo Kaupe, Thursday night.
Friday, the visiting Hana team matched up against coach Derek Borrero’s Kaua‘i Red Raiders in a defensive slugfest through the first half.
“Coach Ipo Yoshioka did a great job of getting these boys ready,” said Borrero who was occupied with winding down the football season as the head coach.
No final score for this matchup was available at press time.
Hana will play each of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation teams, including a double-header today when it tips off against Kapa‘a starting at 9 a.m. and tangles with Island varsity starting at 1:30 p.m., both at the Kapa‘a gym.
Kapa‘a comes off this JV Tournament by hosting the 5th Annual Kapa‘a Basketball Tournament for varsity teams starting Monday.
Teams from McKinley, King Kekaulike, Kamehameha DII and LeJardine are on the lineup with the first matches scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. at the Bernice Hundley Gym.
Island opens against King Kekaulike at 3 p.m. followed by Waimea tangling with McKinley starting at 4:30 p.m. Kapa‘a hosts LeJardine at 6 p.m. and Kaua‘i wraps up the night against Kamehameha starting at 7:30 p.m.
The championship game for this tournament is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 23.
