RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kalaheo's Zane Cabral, second from right, was mobbed by teammates after hitting the game-winning shot against Kaimuki in last night's OIA semifinals.
The zany game was won by a guy named Zane. Kalaheo advances
on buzzer-beaterZane Cabral hits a last-second 3-pointer
to put the Mustangs in the OIA title gameBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comThat's Oahu Interscholastic Association basketball this year. Anything goes.
Kalaheo's Zane Cabral unloaded a 25-foot bomb with time running out, and the ball rattled hard off the inside of the rim before falling in to give the Mustangs an improbable 43-41 victory over the Kaimuki Bulldogs in the league semifinals at Kaimuki last night.
"Zane hit the biggest shot of the year," Kalaheo coach Pete Smith croaked over the roar of the Bulldogs' band after the game. "He's taken this team the last few weeks and put it on his shoulders. This game was on his shoulders. We wanted to put the ball in his hands at the end. We thought he was going to penetrate. It was his decision to shoot and he made a good decision."
Kaimuki never trailed until the final shot. With 13 seconds to go, Kalaheo's 6-foot-7 center Sam Wilhoite cut the Bulldogs' lead to 41-40 with a free throw.
When Kaimuki's Richy Miyasaka missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11 ticks left, the Mustangs' Theodore Fujita-Lukachyk rebounded it and gave it to Cabral, who dribbled up, quickly checked the clock and let it go.
When the ball went through the netting, 0:01 was showing and the neon was in the midst of changing to 0:00.
"When the ball came off the rim (on the defensive end), we got a lucky bounce and it went to Fujita," Cabral said. "He got it to me and I didn't even think about it. I just released a shot. Fortunately it went in. It looked pretty good when I let it go, but every shot has a 50-50 chance."
The Mustangs (10-3) move on to play Leilehua in the OIA championship game tomorrow night at 7 at the Neal Blaisdell Center arena. The Mules beat Mililani 60-49 in the other semifinal last night.
Both the Mustangs and the Bulldogs (10-2) will play in the state tournament starting Wednesday.
"Kalaheo hit a good shot at the end," anguished Kaimuki coach Stephen Lee said. "Those things happen. The way we lost can sum up the whole OIA season. On any given night, it comes down to the final few seconds or overtime.
"Tonight it shouldn't have come down to that. We had the opportunity to win, but it didn't go our way."
Jimmy Miyasaka arced in two treys in the first quarter as the Bulldogs took a 12-8 lead after the first break.
The Mustangs went into a funk in the second quarter against the highly charged play of Kaimuki's Daniel Tautofi and Nick Milan. They combined for seven of the team's 13 points in the quarter as the Bulldogs took a commanding 25-13 halftime lead.
"We opened up in a zone and we just didn't rebound well in it," Smith said. "They were killing us on the boards. We went back to a man defense and talked at halftime about a goal of being down by six by the end of the third."
The third was all Kalaheo, which outscored Kaimuki 12-4 to cut the deficit to four points, 29-25, heading into the final eight minutes. Wilhoite led the way with some tough rebounds and four points in the quarter.
The Mustangs continued charging back in the fourth. Wilhoite dropped in two 10-footers in a row while being double-teamed to bring the visitors within two, and Fujita hit a 10-foot runner with 2:35 left to tie it at 35.
But the Bulldogs remained in control as James Davis tossed in an inside hoop and passed to Jimmy Miyasaka for a 39-35 cushion.
Fujita's clutch 3-pointer kept the Mustangs in striking distance and set the stage for Cabral's game-winner.
"I think how we play at the states will all depend on how well the kids rebound from this," Lee said. "But I think they'll be ready to play."
For the Mustangs, the Mules and an appearance at the Blaisdell are next.
"First we're setting our sights on the OIA championship," Cabral said. "It's going to be tough, but we'll play hard. After that we can begin our quest for the state championship."
AT KAIMUKI H.S. GYM
Kalaheo (10-3) 8 5 12 18 -- 43 Kaimuki (10-2) 12 13 4 12 -- 41 Kalaheo--Mathew Nakashima 0, Theodore Fujita-Lukachyk 8, William Elliott 1, Zane Cabral 12, Neil Bowers 0, David Moore 5, Jeremy Neufeldt 6, Sam Wilhoite 11.
Kaimuki--Richy Miyasaka 4, Daniel Tautofi 11, Isaiah Ano 0, Jr. Maiava 2, Jimmy Miyasaka 12, Jon Torres 0, James Davis 2, Nick Milan 10.3-point goals -- Kalaheo 3 (J. Miyasaka 2, Tautofi). Kaimuki 3 (Fujita-Lukachyk 2, Cabral).
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