Sharks 53, H1 Thunder 40 (13U)

PAA 13U, Kilauea gym
A lot of heart and guts tonight by our Thunder. We had only 4 players, but the league commissioner led his son Bailey play with us (double roster) to help us out and avoid a forfeit. Our guys played strong and even though we were way smaller, we made up for it with steals and speed.

We were down just 27-23 at halftime, and we cut the lead to 2 points 1 point (27-26) early in the second half. (Josh caught fire from 3-point range.) But the Sharks kept platooning 5 in and 5 out. Every time they brought in their second five, we went on a scoring binge. They brought in their starting five, and we fell further behind.

All in all, our five guys played with heart and that's the ultimate reward for us coaches. I could say that if we had our regular lineup, we would've won this game. But I can't. Every team has the opportunity to show up or not, and the Sharks showed up. Only four of our 10 guys did. I'm thankful that we had these four plus Bailey.

Tonight's lineup: Ryan Higashionna, Javan Montiho, Jared Elwin, Joshua de Jesus, Bailey Lee*.

Josh Roberts was sick (stomach flu). Kapaa Nishimura was at his brother's JV championship game. Chris Afe had football practice earlier, but didn't make it to the game. Micah Visoria was at his brother's playoff game. Walter Berthold, not sure where he was. Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain got hurt earlier today at Kalakaua practice.

Big Mahalo to Coach Roy for picking up the guys while I was at work.

Next: Saturday, 10:10 am, Thunder vs. Sharks I (Aiea Intermediate Division). Warmups 9:10 am. Pickups start 8:00 am. Let's have our FULL team and play some Thunder basketball. WE LUB THIS GAME!