Punahou is ILH
By Cindy Luis
basketball champ
Star-BulletinNever is a long time.
So it has been for the seniors on this year's Punahou boys' basketball team. With the exception of center Brandon Brooks, who played on the varsity as a freshman in 1996, the Buffanblu Class of '99 had never defeated Iolani.
Until last night.
Punahou ended a six-game stranglehold by the Raiders as well as avenged its only conference loss of the season with a 34-15 victory at the Iolani gym. An overflow crowd of 1,200-plus saw the Buffanblu finish the second round undefeated in six games and win the ILH title outright with an 11-1 record.
"We were determined after losing to them the first time it wouldn't happen again," said Punahou coach Alan Lum, whose team lost a slow-down battle to the visiting Raiders, 28-24, on Jan. 20. "Steve Gilliam really stepped it up. Knowing it was his last game, we told him to look at the cup as half full, not half empty. He ended his career on this court with a win."
Gilliam, as well as Iolani twin brothers Brad and Cord Anderson, are ineligible for the state tournament because they are fifth-year seniors.
Last night, Gilliam went out with a bang. The senior guard hit Punahou's second 3-pointer in the opening minute as the Buffanblu jumped out to a 6-0 lead and were never headed.
Gilliam finished with 10 points, all coming in the first half, as Punahou took an 18-8 lead into the locker room at halftime. He had two steals and seven of his team's nine second-quarter points, including an off-balance shot at the buzzer to give the Buffanblu a 10-point cushion.
Iolani (9-3), the defending state champion, stayed close until midway through the second quarter. It was 14-8 with 2:38 left when "we had a mental lapse," said Raider coach Mark Mugiishi. "We were only down by six and we were still within striking distance. Then we lost our composure, started attacking the basket when we shouldn't have.
"We went from being down six to being down 10. I think if we didn't lose our composure right before the end of the half, it might have been an entirely different game."
Two weeks ago, Iolani's patient, spread offense worked. The Raiders were only down by five at the half and by two after three quarters; they finished with 12-4 run in the fourth to pull it out.
Last night, Punahou attacked Iolani's four-corner game, putting pressure on the ball at midcourt. The Buffanblu forced 10 turn-overs, six in the first half.
"They were trapping a lot more this time, had a real up-tempo defense," said Cord Anderson. "We tried hard tonight but things weren't going our way, our shots were off. We gave in to their pressure."
Punahou 9 9 6 10--34 Iolani 6 2 4 3--15Punahou: Blair Suzuki 2, Micah Tang 1, Steven Gilliam 10, Noah Wee 7, Zach Stephens 3, Kekoa Taliaferro 0, Jesse Lam 1, Bryan Turner-Gerlach 2, Brandon Brooks 8.Iolani: Douglas Jackson 2, McGaughy 0, Kyle LaBenz 2, Joe Igber 0, Janson Young 2, Bronson Melemai 0, Brant Yasaka 3, Brad Anderson 0, Cord Anderson 6, Donny Mateaki 0.
In other regular-season finales:
Kamehameha 38, Maryknoll 33: The Warriors finished 8-4, Spartans 3-9.
Kamehameha gets
Star-Bulletin staff
state soccer berthJunior Jennifer DeHay scored on a header at the 2:40 mark of sudden-death overtime to lift Kamehameha to a 1-0 win over Punahou in an ILH girls' soccer playoff game yesterday at Kapiolani Park.
The victory gives the Warriors (10-2-1) the second and final ILH berth in next week's state tournament on Maui. The Buffanblu, who forced the playoff with a 1-0 overtime win over Kamehameha last Saturday, finish the year at 9-3-1.
With the ball in front of the Punahou goal, DeHay's twin sister, Robyn, was tackled near the 18-yard box. Warrior sweeper Chelsey Montero gained control of the ball, dribbled and lobbed a pass from midfield over the Buffanblu defense.
"It was a long pass and Jenny got to it on one bounce and headed it in," said Warriors coach Michele Nagamine. "It was another great game that could have gone either way."
Kamehameha won the state title in 1995 and '96, and finished second to Pearl City in 1997. The Warriors did not qualify for the tournament last year.