Buckets, buckets and more buckets.
BIIF basketball is in its third week, and some teams are off to a great start while others are still finding their footing.
On Tuesday night, four outings were played around the isle — Kealakehe High girls and Ka‘u High boys at Christian Liberty Academy, Pahoa High boys at Kea‘au High and Parker School girls at Konawaena High.
PHS 45 – KaHS 33
The Daggers triumphed over their neighbors — thanks to a big fourth quarter, during which Pahoa rocketed out of a small deficit and put up 19 points while holding the Cougars to just six.
Kea‘au took an early lead by winning the first frame 13-7 — a lead which would shrink, but still hang over the Daggers until the fourth quarter. The Daggers outscored the Cougars 11-6 during the second quarter, but came just short of eclipsing Kea‘au, as they entered halftime down 19-18.
PHS and KHS matched each other with eight points each during the third quarter, then Pahoa took off during the final frame to steal the lead and seal the win.
Top scorers for PHS were Kyran Canete with 11 points and Hunter Paio with nine points.
The Cougars were led by Rayden Handy with nine points and Anselmo Jose III with eight.
Now 3-0 — with two wins against DI opponents (Kea‘au and Kealakehe) — things are so far looking good for the Daggers, who currently boast the best record in BIIF DII.
After a week of downtime, Pahoa will be put to the test next Wednesday (Dec. 13) with a road match at Hilo High. The Vikings have also had a hot start to the season, going 3-1 overall and downing Konawaena High 54-46 on Monday.
Now 1-1 in BIIF play, the Cougars will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Friday night, facing off against St. Joseph School at the Hilo Armory for the Cardinals’ season opener.
Parker School JV will play against SJS prior to the Kea‘au/SJS game.
JV score: Kea‘au 41 – Pahoa 20.
JV top scorers: Kamalei Silva-Kealoha (KHS) 9, Jetson Silva (KHS) 8, William Duarte-Jose (PHS) 8.
KeHS 46 – CLA 25
The Canefire fell to 0-3 during its home opener as the Waveriders notched their first win of the season.
Christian liberty will be back in action next week, with a matchup against the also-winless Vikings of Hilo HS (0-2 BIIF, 0-4 ovr.) on Tuesday evening (Dec. 12) at home.
On Monday night, Kealakehe (1-3) will return to Puna to face KS-Hawaii (2-0 BIIF, 4-4 ovr.).
KuHS 76 – CLA 32
It was a rough night at CLA as the boys’ varsity squad followed the girls with another loss.
On the other hand, it was a good night for the Trojans — who not only got their first win, but more than doubled the Canefire’s score.
Despite the rout, a 0-1 record isn’t so bad, and CLA has ample upcoming opportunities to get a win.
The Canefire will have more than a week to pratice ahead of its Dec. 14 road test against Waiakea High (1-0 BIIF, 1-3 ovr.). The Warriors, however, opened their season last week with a 52-28 rout of Ka‘u.
Ka‘u (1-2) will have two full weeks before its next court appearance — a Dec. 19, DII play homestand against KS-Hawaii, which will play its first preseason game today at an O‘ahu tournament.
KoHS 72 – PS 4
Following an array of passing inside the arc, team defense and elite scoring at the rim, Konawaena girls basketball comfortably routed Parker 72-4 on Tuesday night at Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium.
While the Bulls showed heart and aggressiveness throughout the four quarters, it was not enough to overcome the Wildcats’ chemistry and talent.
Konawaena (8-2 overall, 2-0 BIIF as of Wednesday afternoon) matched up with Honoka‘a on Wednesday night on a back-to-back at home, while Parker (3-2 BIIF as of Wednesday afternoon) underwent the same circumstances against Kohala. Results will be updated in Friday’s paper.
