The stage is set for Friday’s KTA/BIIF boys basketball championship — where Hilo High and Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i will settle their season-long rivalry in a fight for the BIIF Division I title, and reigning Division II state champion Kohala will take on underdog challenger Pahoa High for the BIIF DII crown.
The matchups were confirmed following Tuesday and Wednesday’s semifinal rounds — which saw Hilo overcome Konawaena High, KS-Hawai‘i crush Waiakea High, Pahoa prevail over Honoka‘a High and Kohala rout Hawaii Prep.
The championships will take place Friday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo, starting with the DII matchup at 5 p.m., followed by the DI matchup.
All four teams that play on Friday have earned berths in next week’s HHSAA state championship.
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KOHALA
The No. 1-seeded Cowboys confirmed their third straight trip to the BIIF DII championship round since the pandemic, crushing No. 4 seed Hawaii Prep 61-32 on Wednesday night in Kapa‘au.
Now a whopping 13-0, Kohala will look to complete a perfect BIIF season.
On Wednesday, Layden Kauka led the Cowboys with 20 points. His brother, Landon, scored 13 points — and teammate Isac Libron nearly notched a double-double, scoring nine points and getting 11 rebounds.
Ian Caldwell led HPA with 13 points.
Ka Makani’s season ended with a 6-8 record.
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PAHOA
The Daggers will make their first title matchup appearance in nearly ten years — their last time being during the 2014-15 season, when they defeated Kohala to capture the BIIF DII crown.
Now 9-4, Pahoa burst from the shadows and shook up the division this season — exceeding expectations, commanding respect and humbling many.
The Daggers etched their names into this season’s memory by defeating Honoka‘a in a DII semifinal game on Tuesday night at home. The Dragons, who narrowly lost to Kohala in the BIIF DII championship last year, have been a major threat in the division year in and year out, and hadn’t lost to Pahoa in years.
PHS downed Honoka‘a 52-42, led by Kyran Canete, who put up 25 points. Hunter Paio also scored 11 points for the Daggers.
Honoka‘a’s top scorers were Elijah Kaupu-Alip with 17 points and David Aiona with 11.
Though Kohala (12-0) has been a gargantuan this season and has dispatched every team on the isle, Pahoa was one of the Cowboys’ closest regular season matchups. Kohala beat the Daggers 52-44 in December. The only two other BIIF teams to come within eight points of the Cowboys were DI’s top two — Hilo and KSH.
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HILO
The No. 2-seeded Vikings were inches away from losing their season during Tuesday night’s DI semifinals, but found their rhythm to prevail 66-53 over No. 3 Konawaena and defend their home court.
Though Hilo finished the first quarter ahead 14-11, Kona’s Abraham Ogata began a layup rampage, putting up eight points to lead the Wildcats over the Vikings 15-8 and enter halftime with Hilo trailing 26-22.
Ogata’s wrath persisted — boosted by some points from Kenneth Sanders, Riley Asakura and Elijah Morgan — until late in the third quarter, when Hilo overcame a 32-27 deficit to get back in the lead. This was accomplished thanks to transition scoring and free throws — as Peyton Pana led the charge with eight points on the quarter.
The Vikings created distance in the fourth quarter, outscoring Konawaena 26-17. During the final frame, Jared Fuerte led Hilo with 11 points (including three three-pointers), Pana scored seven points and Ikena Leao scored six.
Pana was Hilo’s top scorer with 25 points, going six-for-seven from the free throw line. Ogata also scored 25 points for the Wildcats, and was the only Konawaena player to crest double digits.
Fuerte scored 17 points, including five three-pointers — matching his season high notched last week against Christian Liberty Academy.
Leao scored ten points for the Vikings.
Now 11-2, Hilo will get another crack at KSH — which defeated the Vikings 49-46 two weeks ago at home during their penultimate regular season game.
Konawaena ended its season with an 8-5 record.
• • •
KS-HAWAI‘I
After closing out its regular season in a frustrating fashion last week — suffering its first loss of the season, 57-49 at home to Kohala — the KSH’s Warriors got back to business by routing Waiakea 66-30 in a semifinal matchup Tuesday night in Kea‘au.
After finishing the opening frame with a less-than-desirable 8-5 lead, KSH broke away by outscoring Waiakea 28-6. Kawohi Huihui led with eight points, as Raider Diaz-Varize scored six on two threes, Kiai Yasso scored five and Justin Ondo scored four.
KSH kept on growing its lead, outscoring Waiakea 16-14 in the third quarter and 14-7 in the fourth.
Huihui scored a game high 18 points. Yasso scored 13, and led in distance shooting with three three-pointers. Waiakea’s top scorers were Josiah Amuimuia with 11 points and Maika Kauhi with ten.
Now 12-1, the Warriors will look to win a repeat BIIF DI title in their second championship matchup against Hilo in three years.
Waiakea wrapped up the season 6-7.