When Saint Louis unleashed its fullcourt press, Kahuku had no answer.
The top-seeded Crusaders had not utilized the press in months, but the timing was right, and Saint Louis advanced with a 63-36 win on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.
The idea to bring the fullcourt press back was something coach Dan Hale shared with his players. The Crusaders came out with a different look, deploying their quick perimeter defenders in a 2-2-1 press.
“We did some of that in the preseason. We talked and we worked on it and the guys felt good about it,” Hale said. “It’s definitely a collaborative thing. They really wanted to (press). Especially when you’ve sat for awhile, it’s a good way to get out and get things flowing, and they did a great job with it.
AJ Bianco had four steals in the first 10 minutes of the game, including some in halfcourt man-to-man defense.
“He talks to us because he actually works at our school,” said Bianco, who also had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists. “In between classes, we’ll see him. ‘Do you want to press tonight?’ He communicates with us. That’s what we love about him. He talks to us and what we feel is going to work best, too.”
The Crusaders got another clutch performance from senior point guard Hayden Bayudan, who scored 20 points and had four steals. Bayudan was in peak-performance mode, reading Kahuku and wasting no motion as he presented tough on-ball pressure, quick hands and efficient scoring off the turnovers generated by the Crusader pressure.
“It’s something we all do. It’s all preparation,” said Bayudan, who wasn’t expecting a lopsided margin of victory. “I’m kind of surprised, but at the same time, I know what kind of team we are. This is what we do. We put in the work. We put in the sacrifice. We commit ourselves to our craft and this is the result. I’m just everybody can see us on this big stage, and this is what it’s all about.”
Next is MIL champion Baldwin, which rallied for a 60-57 win over Kailua. Saint Louis and Baldwin met at the James Alegre Invitational on Dec. 21. The Crusaders won, 58-42. Saint Louis was without Bianco at the time.
“A lot of bigs, a lot of height. Same thing like this game. We’ve got to keep them off the boards, handle, run our motions, stay patient with it,” Bayudan said. “They’ve got guys who can make plays and keep them in the game. We’ve got to handle that and stay composed. I’m just anxious right now. I just know the job’s not done.”
Shoncin Revuelto, another stellar defender and ballhandler, added nine points. Aiva Arquette had a lighter load than usual with his team cashing in on Kahuku turnovers. The 6-4 senior finished with seven points and a team-high six assists.
The game was quite a bonanza for fans who relish the intensity of the rivalry between the two schools. A large contingent of Kahuku football players, waving flags, cheered on from the bleachers. Kahuku defeated Saint Louis in the Open Division state championship game last December. Bianco returned the favor just a bit on Thursday night.
Game time is 5 p.m., followed by the Mililani-‘Iolani matchup.
Good win for Saint Louis, Kahuku looks good only in Football nothing else, Saint Louis good in Football (better team this coming year), Basketball and Baseball, GO CRUSADERS.
Kahuku looked GREAT in football. Mercy rule GREAT..😂
LOL @ ILH 🙄 you still poor sport about Saint Louis losing to Kahuku in Football. Yeah get ready to lose again this year 😂🤣
Folks who foolishly predict what will happen in the future, especially in the field of competitive interscholastic athletics, and basing their prediction on their biased and prejudicial perspective, and resentment of the opponents, are probably folks who are insecure and not very confident about their prediction, but want to try to “get inside of the head” of those who support the opponents. Have you learned nothing from the events of the past two years? There is no guarantee that there will be a football season later this year, considering what is going on in this world, and much less that your team will win anything! Making a foolish, brash prediction that is probably based almost entirely on emotion, while accusing ILH of poor sportsmanship is itself poor sportsmanship, and setting yourself up for looking foolish if the prediction does not happen, especially if the result is like what happened in the quarter finals of the HHSAA basketball tournament when the top ranked and number one tournament seed from the ILH routed the government school team from, what’s their name?
Folks who foolishly predict what will happen in the future, especially in the field of competitive interscholastic athletics, and basing their prediction on their biased and prejudicial perspective, and resentment of the opponents, are probably folks who are insecure and not very confident about their prediction, but want to try to “get inside of the head” of those who support the opponents. Have you learned nothing from the events of the past two years? There is no guarantee that there will be a football season later this year, considering what is going on in this world, and much less that your team will win anything! Making a foolish, brash prediction that is probably based almost entirely on emotion, while accusing ILH of poor sportsmanship is itself poor sportsmanship, and setting yourself up for looking foolish if the prediction does not happen, especially if the result is like what happened in the quarter finals of the HHSAA basketball tournament when the top ranked and number one tournament seed from the ILH routed the government school team from, what’s their name? And one more thing, if there were a mercy rule in the HHSAA boys Division I basketball tournament, it should have been invoked after the first quarter of the final quarter final game at Moanalua previously mentioned.
All hail, o vanquished and conquered ukuhak, your conquerors ma Kalaepohaku a me Ke Kula Kanalui Na Kulekia no ka oi ua lanakila
I heard the opening seasons games for Kahuku’s football teams 1st three games will be played against, Kamehameha, Saint Louis, and Punahou, all these games will be at Farrington, Mililani, Waianae, Kapolei will be at Kahuku, Kahuku has to go to Campbell, Farrington and Leilehua.
ILH – will there be an inter-league this upcoming year?
What a great coaching decision to expose the RR’s lack of ball handlers.
How long did it take Hale to get a State Championship? Unreal.
Maybe Punz re-thinking their situation?
@ ILoveHawaii
Winning shouldn’t be that hard when you can LEGALLY recruit the best basketball players in the state!
Next up, Baseball, go Crusaders