KAPA‘A — Fifteen unanswered points in the final period broke a close encounter between .U..NCH. and the Kamikaze, Thursday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a. Natalie Mata flew in from O‘ahu to post 10 points in leading .U..NCH.
KAPA‘A — Fifteen unanswered points in the final period broke a close encounter between .U..NCH. and the Kamikaze, Thursday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a.
Natalie Mata flew in from O‘ahu to post 10 points in leading .U..NCH. to a 50-35 win over the Kamikaze.
“Normally, Natalie only comes to play the weekend games,” said Steven Matsumoto of the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association, host for the summer league. “But this game must’ve been special because we didn’t think she was going to play.”
Mata posted a bucket in each of the first and second periods to give .U..NCH. a 22-21 halftime bulge only to have the Kamikaze answer with a 10-7 third period, fueled by Bristy Ann Agu powering for four of her game-total six points in the frame. That gave the Kamikaze a 31-29 advantage at the buzzer.
Carie Inouye stepped up for .U..NCH., leading the 21-4 final period showing by netting six of her game-total eight points.
Cherisse Rapozo, Erin Garlie and Rachael Taira each finished with seven points, Taira getting five marks in the final period, including a three-ball, the only one scored by .U..NCH. in the game.
Garlie, the low post, was matched by the Kamikaze’s Jocelyn Jensen, visiting from Alaska, but effectively keeping the Kamikaze redshirts to the outside.
During the fatal fourth frame, the Kamikaze were held to the outside and were victimized by turnovers.
Mahea Hanie-Grace and Kristle Henry led the Kamikaze effort with 10 points apiece, both strong shooters denied any treys on this outing.
“When these two teams play, it’s always a good game,” said Brian Inouye, whose daughters Carie and Elisa play for .U..NCH.
Overall, .U..NCH. outgunned the Kamikaze with 20 buckets to the Kamikaze’s eight. The Kamikaze picked up the difference on the charity stripe, finishing 14-for-15 overall compared with the 7-for-9 shooting by .U..NCH.
Jed Belmidiano calmly dropped a charity pair in the final eight seconds of play to give Tropang-L its second win of the season, icing the game 64-60 over a strong comeback by the Nite Owls.
Kyle Pigao, netting a game-high 22 points, fired off three from outside the three-point arc to pull Tropang-L from a 17-14 first quarter deficit. Leading the 23-9 second quarter, Tropang-L posted a 37-26 halftime lead.
Tropang-L continued the pressure in the third frame, staying ahead of the Nite Owls, 15-11 for a 52-39 lead at the end of three periods.
But the Nite Owls charged back in the fourth quarter, 21-12, fueled by the strong rebounding of Keelan Sakuda and netting six of his game-total eight points in the period. Clareson Torres fired off five of his game-total 13 points in the fourth frame, including a three-ball that pulled the Nite Owls to within a pair late in the game.
Balmidiano finished the night with eight points, the final two with his charity pair with eight seconds to play.
James Badua and Jr. Punzalan each ended the night with 11 points in the Tropang-L win, Punzalan getting nine of his marks in the second half, including a twine-burning three-ball in the third period to preserve the team’s lead.
Kaleo Cummings sparked the Nite Owls’ offense with 16 points, followed by Torres’ 13 marks.
James Sagucio’s quickness on the court yielded 10 points, followed by Sakuda’s eight. Braxton Garma got five of his game-total seven points in the first quarter to lead the Owls to their lead with a three-ball, one of three fired in the game.
Overall, the Owls ended with 20 buckets to Tropang-L’s 19 and on the free throw line, the Owls went 11-for-17 to Tropang-L’s 8-for-14 showing. The Owls ended with three treys to five for Tropang-L.
Both games were re-scheduled from the regular season, said Karen Matsumoto. The .U..NCH. will have a bunch of its members off-island next week, and the coach of Tropang-L will be marrying off one of his daughters, Saturday.
Today will see a trio of Women’s 18 and Over games at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center starting at noon, followed by three Men’s 18 and Over matches at the Bernice Hundley Gym starting at 5 p.m.
