Maryknoll JV League, championship game
Great defensive work from all 15 Thunder tonight. Referees called it tight on fullcourt pressure and allowed all hand-checking (impeding rhythm, speed) in halfcourt, which worked well for MPI and not so well for us in the first half. We led 12-11 at the break, with 7 of MPI's points coming on bonus free throws.
Second half, we dropped the press, played solid halfcourt defense and went on a run. We adjusted to the officiating, stopped fouling so much and built up a decent enough lead.
We also kept close watch on MPI's long-range shooters most of the second half, which was big. Last time, they rallied late in the game and we pulled out a 31-30 win. This time, much smarter on defense. Chris, Ray and Kali‘a were superb on the defensive glass. For the most part, all of our defenders did a good job boxing out and playing strong in the paint.
That's all I really wanted: great defense and quick transition on offense and defense. Everything else was secondary to me.
We got the ball inside fairly well, using Chris, Anu, Kyle and Ray on the low post to get good looks and high-percentage shots. We finished out with halfcourt man defense in the final 8 or 10 minutes.
It was doubly tough with Tani on the bench. He got scratched on the nose late in the first half and it never quite stopped bleeding, so he never returned to the game.
It was never easy. MPI is relentless with their halfcourt man defense. If we had to do this game again, maybe I would've called for Alpha on defense, but with the fouls we racked up early (Anu and Tani had 3 each before halftime), we played our base (hands off) defense and it worked out.
We didn't play perfect basketball, but we played with 100 percent heart and a lot of smarts. This was a title we truly earned. GREAT WORK, THUNDER!
9-1 overall with the win over MPI (8-2) and Coach Jeff Won. I'm looking forward to a lot of great battles with them in the next few years.
MAHALO to Auntie Lehua Nishimura and Kapaa for picking up Anu after his football pass league game. MAHALO to Brandon Higashionna for his stellar work on the video camera again.
Lineup: Sierra Murobayashi, Jared Elwin, Micah Visoria, Kali'a Mielke, Colin Ramos, Kyle Moraga, Radyn Kaleikini, Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain, Ryan Higashionna, Chase Santos, Chris Afe, Tanielu Mosi Afe, Kapaa Nishimura, Josh M DE Jesus, Keanu Pratt.
CONGRATULATIONS, CHAMPIONS!
Next: Thursday, 7:15 pm - Thunder vs. Damien (Kalani Varsity League).
WE LUBBB THIS GAAAAME!!
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