The Warriors’ offense fired on all cylinders from the opening tipoff and never let its foot off the gas. Kapaa High School’s varsity boys basketball team cruised past Waimea 73-31 Saturday night during its first home game of the season.
The Warriors’ offense fired on all cylinders from the opening tipoff and never let its foot off the gas.
Kapaa High School’s varsity boys basketball team cruised past Waimea 73-31 Saturday night during its first home game of the season.
The Warriors started the game with a 10-0 run and the Menehune offense could not match its opponent shot for shot.
“Overall, our game is to press and run the ball,” said Kapaa head coach John Kaneholani. “When we slow down, then (we will) be a slow team. We’ll keep the hype up and make sure they keep going.”
Kapaa’s Denmark Aladin said playing unselfishly was crucial for the team’s success on offense.
“Before the game, our coach talked to us. He said the only way we would win this game was to play as a team,” he said.
Aladin scored five points for Kapaa.
Waimea head coach Chris Acoba said Kapaa’s pressure was the reason the game became out of reach for his team.
“It was coming wave after wave,” he said. “It was just bad preparation by me.
“I knew what Kapaa was going to do. I knew they were going to pressure.”
Turnovers aggravated Waimea throughout the game and Acoba said he was surprised that his team had trouble taking care of the ball.
“We got good ball handlers, but their pressure (hurt us),” he said. “We have to work on more ball-handling skills.”
Waimea’s Bobby Oliver played well in the paint as he earned second-chance points from offensive rebounds and blocked shots on defense.
“I’m in the middle, so I see everything,” Oliver said. “I see what’s going on and who’s moving where. If I see something, I just try to (make a play).”
Oliver finished the game as Waimea’s leading scorer with nine points.
Acoba said he hopes the loss will serve as a learning experience and the team can improve moving forward.
“They’re going to get better from this loss. That’s what it’s about,” he said. “Just kick our legs and work harder in practice.”
Kapaa’s next game is Saturday at Kauai High School.
“That game is going to be fire,” Aladin said. “You’ll be seeing both sides going hard, offense and defense from both teams.”
Waimea’s will play next on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at home, also against Kauai.
Junior varsity:
Kapaa’s Junard Mata drained a three-point shot to give his team its first lead of the game with less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Kapaa’s junior varsity squad went on to defeat Waimea 59-55.
Mata was Kapaa’s leading scorer with 17 points.
Waimea’s Reymund Mendoza led his team in scoring with 21 points.
