KALAHEO — Kaulupono 5G’s Liana Hasegawa dropped a bucket in the opener of a charity pair in sudden death overtime to give the Pedro Saligumba-coached team a 23-22 edge over the Dream Team on Monday night during the youth summer
KALAHEO — Kaulupono 5G’s Liana Hasegawa dropped a bucket in the opener of a charity pair in sudden death overtime to give the Pedro Saligumba-coached team a 23-22 edge over the Dream Team on Monday night during the youth summer basketball games at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
With just over a minute remaining in the contest that opened a trio of games Monday, the Dream Team’s Lele Gonsalves broke away for a basket to deadlock the match 20-20. As the seconds ticked down, Kaulupono was sent to the charity stripe for a one-and-one, but the opening shot glanced off the hoop to force the three-minute sudden death overtime.
Hasegawa lost little time in netting a bucket, which was promptly answered by Gonsalves until the go-ahead foul shot closed the match.
Olivia Malafu, being refreshed with a large cooler of water on the eve of overtime play, finished the night with a game-high 17 points balanced between two halves. Gonsalves was the only other Dream Team player to mark the scoresheets with five points, including the overtime pair.
Hasegawa and Ari Costa shared scoring honors for Kaulupono, each girl finishing with nine points. Kiaura Ortiz-Rita added three points, and a pair from Hailey Mata rounded out the win in the sole girls’ match of the night.
The Supersonics split the remaining two games when Raysen Jarquio netted 11 points to lead the 6B Supersonics to a 35-29 win over a hard-pressing Hanakila team in the second match of the night.
Lindcey Constantino finished with nine points, including a trey in the second half, to preserve the Supersonics’ edge over Hanakila, who got 12 points from Moku Ekolu-Tolenoa who tickled the twine twice from outside the three-point arc in the second half.
The nightcap saw Isle Hoops, comprised primarily of Island School players, capitalize on its height advantage in the first half of the third game — an eighth grade division boys match.
But Supersonics came back behind 19 points from Jayden Reeves, and 10 points apiece from Mayson Broyles and Aden Ringor to complete a winning night with a 48-36 showing over Isle Hoops. Nakoa Peragine dropped 11 points in the effort.
The next game for the summer youth league will tip off next week because several of the league teams will be participating in the Kauai Hoops Classic which tips off from 1 p.m. Thursday at four different sites around the island.
