KALAHEO n When the basketball tips off for the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association (KYBA) 14 and Under boys championship Thursday evening, it will be a Lihu‘e vs. Lihu‘e contest as the second seeded C-Town boys under Coach Daniel Simao will
KALAHEO n When the basketball tips off for the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association (KYBA) 14 and Under boys championship Thursday evening, it will be a Lihu‘e vs. Lihu‘e contest as the second seeded C-Town boys under Coach Daniel Simao will attempt to best top seed Lihu‘e On Fire coached by Billy Ramos and staff.
The two teams got to the championship bracket by winning their playoff contests Tuesday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Scott Taylor ripped four treys to lead C-Town in an explosive 28-8 second-half with Kekoa Prem and Silas Tacsiat adding to the fire with double-digit performances in the 58-31 victory over the Hanama‘ulu Boys.
With a vocal and supportive audience, the Hanama‘ulu Boys battled to a 28-23 halftime showing before Taylor and Prem fired up the C-Town offense in the third frame.
C-Town shut down Hanama‘ulu by controlling both the inside and outside lanes, restricting Hanama‘ulu to just one field goal by Paleku Yasay and a 0-4 showing on the free throw line in the third quarter.
Taylor finished with 18 points to lead C-Town with Prem adding 14 points, and Tacsiat finishing with a dozen markers in the win.
Cameron Largusa got 11 of his game-total 13 points in the first half to lead the Hanama‘ulu effort followed by Yasay finishing with five points.
Kainoa Bryan came up with 12 points, Justin Ramos and Scot Sasan each fired 10 points as Lihu‘e On Fire lit up the scoreboards with a 61-14 win over Wailua to nail down the second spot for the championship showdown.
Tyler Cram topped the Wailua effort with seven points with Davin Chong finishing with four in the showing.
Ho‘onani Dennis finished with 17 points to lead the Lady Raiders to a 46-18 showing over Lihu‘e in the finale, a Girls 19 Under contest.
Darcie Allianic added nine points, including a trey in the opening stanza with Cherisse Rapozo stoking the victory with eight points.
Tamalyn Hasegawa led the Lihu‘e effort with 11 points and Kori Masuda finished with four points.
Tipoff for the KYBA 14 Under Boys championship series is 6 p.m. tonight for third place honors with the championship game scheduled for 7 p.m. A Girls 19 Under contest will round out the triple bill starting at 8 p.m., at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
