KALAHEO — The Kauai Thunder pulled away from Papalina Gray in the third quarter en route to a 46-24 win to claim the boys title during the Extreme Termite basketball games Thursday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Following a 12-10 lead after two periods, the Thunder’s Joshua Rego scored five points — including a long ball — and Kala‘i Esteban tackled the inside traffic for six points for a 14-1 run for a 24-11 margin heading into the final 16-minute stanza.
Papalina Gray went to the long ball, netting two from Caden Salmon. But the effort fell short as the team coached by Bryant Salmon could only finish the long frame with 14 points to the Thunder’s 20 points.
Rego topped the Thunder scoring on 15 points followed by Estaban with 12 points and Isaac Mirey with 11 points in the win, which closed the Kauai Thunder’s undefeated season.
Caden Salmon topped the Papalina Gray effort with 12 points followed by Max Pearson ending with five points, including the only mark in the third period’s 14-1 Thunder run. Lucas Summerhays added three points and Tematahira Perreira finished with a fourth period pair.
Earlier in the evening, the battle for third place between Papalina Orange and the Hotshots came down to the final ticks. Hotshots’ Cristoffer Alicante dropped the tail end of a charity pair to clinch the 28-24 victory with just 12 seconds showing in the game.
Lindcey Constantino came into the action in the final period, dropping all seven of his marks to lead the Hotshot victory. His speed came into play on sweeping defense against Papalina Orange buckets. Alicante finished with seven points, five dropping in the final period.
Javin Bagaoisan added four points. Rhenz Punzalon, Wyatt Vinhasa, Noah Valenciano, Reece Cariaga and Dylan Bugayong each bucketed a pair.
Kaina Andrade topped the Papalina Orange scoring on nine points with Christian Vito adding five points. Barkley Gillman ended with five points, including a three-ball in the opening stanza. Brayden Mira added a trey in the final period. A pair from Kaisen Vegas rounded out the effort.
Bobby Kamakele, the Extreme Termite league manager, said the summer basketball games were supposed to start next week, but teams are still coming in. The start of the summer hoops will be delayed a few days to accommodate the late entries.
