Kamehameha and Farrington meet in a matchup at the ‘Iolani Classic. The Warriors are using fullcourt (three quarter) pressure, and the Govs are handling it fairly well. They’ve come a long way in the past three weeks. They’re also running the flex offense against Greg Tacon’s man defense.
Felcris Ahadain with a corner 3 to cut the lead to 6-5. Big Cale Pedro (6-5 senior) then hits two mid-range buckets in a row, then hustles for a follow shot. KS leads 12-5.
First quarter end with the Warriors up 16-8.
SECOND QUARTER
Mosi Afe with a nice feed to one of Farrington’s big men under the basket, but Kamehameha’s Kobe Young blocks it off the glass. That leads to a 3-pointer by Noah Gelacio, and the lead is 19-8.
Rebound by Farrington’s Challen Faamatau, who feeds Afe, who feeds Vaitonoa Agor again. Agor hits the layup this time. 19-11. Afe’s acceleration with the ball going upcourt is a blur. Agor working the post, gets fouled. He hits one FT and Madamba outworks the bigger Warriors for the offensive rebound. Saint Gelacio steals a pass, but Afe hustles back and steals the ball before he’s fouled.
Agor hits two foul shots and it’s 19-13. Govs hanging in there.
Farrington in a 2-3 matchup zone and it stifles Kamehameha a bit. Govs miss a layup, Warriors run and Saint Gelacio hits two free throws. KS 21-13 with 4:47 left.
Kamehameha’s reserves playing well, quick transition, challenging every shot, especially in the paint. The Govs do a nice job of hitting the high and low posts, but haven’t been efficient at finishing shots. The first half ends with Kamehameha ahead 32-16.
THIRD QUARTER
Govs start the second half with a bang. Paul Madamba hits a 3 and Miah Fepuleai drives coast to coast on the fastbreak for an uncontested layup. But Young battles inside for a layup. KS leads 34-21.
Afe drives again and draws a foul from Kaeler Kahana. Farrington getting some momentum, playing turnover free. Kahana misses a baseline floater, but nobody boxes Young out and he soars for the easy tip-in. KS leads 36-22.
Madamba drives and draws a foul. He hits the first and second FTs. Govs are within 12, but the reserves are back in and there’s a 3-second call, their first turnover of the half. Same with KS. Tacon has a few reserves in again. Every coach wants a reserve crew that can hold down the fort. The Warriors have that. Farrington playing tough man defense, but off a fastbreak, Kamren Victorino-Kato hits a straightaway 3. KS leads 39-24.
Warriors forcing turnovers off their 2-2-1 press and getting buckets in the paint from Young. The lead is now 45-26 with 1:18 to go in the third. Govs call time out, but then give up two easy layups on cuts to the basket. Coach Steven Leopoldo is doing all he can, but between the defensive lapses, lack of boxing out and forced shots, this is more of a basketball IQ issue than anything he can change overnight.
Farrington showed a lot of progress lately, upsetting Leilehua on Saturday. That’s a Top 10 team. The possibilities are there for the young Govs.
Kamehameha has gotten steadily better since the first time I saw them. They are more cohesive from 1 through 15. This is the second time I’ve seen them without Fatu Sua-Godinet and they look a lot more comfortable this time without their most versatile player.
***
COMMENTS