Pahoa 20 7 6 14 — 47
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Kohala couldn’t shoot straight until junior guard Kala’i Kapeliela and his teammates went to the free-throw line, where they couldn’t miss in pulling off a gigantic upset in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II basketball playoffs.
Kapeliela scored 21 points — going 11 of 11 from the line — to spur the Cowboys over Pahoa 54-47 in the BIIF semifinals on Friday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium for their first appearance in the HHSAA state tournament since a three-year run from 2007 to ’09.
It’s old foes meeting in a rubber match for the BIIF Division II championship with West No. 1 seed HPA (9-3) vs. West No. 2 seed Kohala (8-4) at 6 p.m. today. The two teams split games during the regular season.
“Free throws were big and we held the lead with free throws,” Kohala coach Don Fernandez said. “Kala’i is one of our better shooters. So it was OK with him on the line, but Makani (Kualii) did his job. Usually he shoots a Mendoza average.”
Fernandez, who knows his Major League Baseball history, was talking about Mario Mendoza, whose feeble work with the bat established in his honor the “Mendoza Line,” a batting average of .200.
All Kualii did was score a valuable 16 points, including 10 of 12 free throws. That’s 83 percent — a game-long trend for the Cowboys, who went a blistering 29 of 34 from the line for 85 percent.
Christopher Roxburgh and Hana Caravalho chipped in with seven points each for Kohala, which converted just 28 percent (7 of 25) from the field, including 3 of 9 on 3-pointers.
No. 1 East seed Pahoa (9-4) went in the opposite direction, solid from the field at 41 percent (15 of 37) shooting, including 6 of 15 from long distance, and clanking-cold from the free-throw line: 11 of 25 or 44 percent.
The loss ends a three-year run of Division II state appearances, which includes last season’s runner-up finish to Farrington — a school with an enrollment over 2,500 — and a state title in 2010, a 41-39 win over Kailua.
Devin Freitas-Gonsalves scored 15 points, Nick Fisher added 13 and Sonny Miguel had eight for the Pahoa, which got off to a hot start in the first quarter, dropping five 3-pointers, including Toby Saito’s bank job at the buzzer from 40 feet.
It was 20-7 after the first period and the Daggers were rolling. But they turned away from their uptempo game — creating turnovers and scoring in transition. And very quickly, the Cowboys capitalized, working the ball to the low post for high-percentage shots, which led to free throws while inching closer and closer.
It was eventually tied 33-33 after the third period. And in the fourth quarter, Kapeliela went 6 of 6 from the line, his last free throw a big enough dagger to give Kohala a 52-47 safety net with 19.1 seconds left.
“It feels good. We played hard and played good defense. We moved our feet on defense,” he said. “I never went 11 of 11 from the line before. I just took my time.
“Everybody from the West side is playing for the BIIF championship. We look forward to playing HPA, and trying to beat them again. Everybody works hard on our team and plays together.”
He forgot to add that everybody makes their free throws, too.
Kohala 7 17 9 21 — 54
Pahoa 20 7 6 14 — 47